


But I'm Not a Delinquent!

by Twoz



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/F, High School AU, also very very very very very bad accents for historia, delinquent historia, historia is very violent, ymir is very smart, ymir just wants to be normal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-20
Updated: 2018-04-17
Packaged: 2018-11-03 01:28:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 24,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10956843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twoz/pseuds/Twoz
Summary: Ymir is a second year high school student who can't seem to get a break. She's born with a mean face which causes people to be scared of her and attracts delinquents. She's rumored to have been expelled from three schools due to fighting with her teachers. She is the ultimate trouble maker in everyone's eyes.Only she's not.But Historia Reiss is. With golden hair, sparkling blue eyes, she's the image of an angel. A very violent and destructive angel. When Ymir and Historia cross paths, Ymir can't help but wonder why her life is so hectic.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I had a flash of inspiration, and I have no self control. Whooooooops. Calculus can wait later, amiright? I probably shouldn't have started a new work amidst another, but y'know, no self control :') Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy!

The school stood impressively against its backgrounds. It was a massive institution that startled many due to its status as a public school. A certain Rod Reiss had helped fund the school's development which may or may not have been the reason for its huge size. A tall brunette looked up at the school and sighed. The new school year began that day and unfortunately, that meant her return to the dreaded school. Shingeki High was not her most favorite place to be.

"New year, new Ymir," she whispered to herself. She began to walk towards the entrance when someone had collided into her.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" the student grumbled as he lay on the floor. He looked up to see who exactly he had bumped into, and when he was met with fierce golden eyes, he paled.

"I'm so sorry! I should have been more careful!" the random student quickly sent Ymir an ocean's worth of apologies.

"Look, it's whatever. Just be careful," Ymir sighed. Apparently the new school year was going to be like the last one.

"I'm sorry! I will! Take my wallet as compensation!" He threw her his wallet and dashed off. Ymir looked at it dejectedly. She picked it up, brushed herself, and continued her trek to the school campus. She was going to have to return a whole bunch of wallets to the lost and found. Again. She figured she could wait until after school because she was pretty darn sure that more wallets were going to find themselves in her hands.

Ymir headed to the office for her school schedule. The office was extremely crowded and loud, but once Ymir entered, everyone went silent. She looked around and began walking to the line, and everyone parted from her. There was a whole circle of space surrounding Ymir.

"New year, same shit," she said to no one in particular.

-

"Hey 'Mir!" Connie yelled. He waved his arms frantically which made him look like an inflatable balloon dude. Ymir walked over and plopped her stuff on the floor.

"So," Connie leaned in. "Are you still the most feared person in Shingeki High?"

Ymir looked around and saw that a few faces were staring at them. Once they noticed Ymir looking at them, they quickly turned away and paled. She sighed and took a seat at the lunch table. Ymir started to wonder how many times she was going to sigh today.

"Seems like it," she replied. She wasn't looking forward to the new school year, and it was only the first day. Ymir wondered how she could fake an incredibly rare illness so she wouldn't have to come back.

"Aw, if only they knew the truth! That the big bad Ymir is actually a real softie," Connie joked. Ymir sent him a glare, but Connie only laughed. _At least he doesn't shit his pants when I glare,_ Ymir thought.

Ymir rested her head on her arms. Connie wasn't wrong, Ymir was a softie. A _really_ big softie in fact. She loved animals (well, anything fluffy), and she didn't like the idea of violence. She was a model student and often helped lil old ladies across the street. She was always there for the little friends she did have and she was a firm believer in soul mates, red strings, and all that mushy romance stuff. She was the epitome of soft.

But she didn't look it.

In fact, Ymir looked like she was ready to snap at any moment and go beat up the nearest person. Her face was a natural glare which made her look like she wanted to fight anything and everything. She couldn't remember how many times people thought she was a delinquent just because of her face. It was probably a really big number.

"I just wish people didn't judge everything off looks," she whispered. She didn't expect Connie to hear her, but surprisingly he did.

"Don't worry 'Mir. We'll show this school how much of a good person you are," he whispered back.

Ymir could only hope they would.

-

"And don't ta ever call me cute again!" A small blonde yelled. She was facing a heap on the floor, something that looked vaguely like a student.

"Yesh mwam," the heap tried to respond. They were pretty beaten up and their face was swollen, making it hard to distinguish their facial features. Historia was pretty sure that they had been fairly good looking before they were beaten.

Historia huffed and walked away from the heap. Sasha was waiting for her and chuckled.

"Another one call ya cute?" She questioned. Historia nodded and fumed.

"I don' get it Sash'! Why the fuck do all these nitwits keep approachin' me? I'm gay as fuck for cryin' out loud!" Historia ranted angrily to her companion. Sasha laughed at her friends' outburst.

Historia was around 5 feet tall and had golden hair and blue eyes. Her voice was soft and had skin as smooth and good looking as a doll. She was a real looker, and almost everyone knew it. Many had tried to approach her like the heap had done, but Historia would always beat them to a pulp.

"I'm not some sort of angel I'm tellin' ta! I ain't a prissy!" Historia continued on her rant. "I am Historia fuckin' Reiss! I could destroy them all if I had ta!"

"Mhm, you sure can honey bun," Sasha chuckled. It was amusing to see this blonde angel curse and holler at the world.

"I just don' get it Sash'! Why do people have ta judge other peoples on their looks? If they knew about how much of a brawler I am, they would have run as if the devil was chasin them!"

"Well, people see what they wanna see. And when they see you," Sasha pointed to her friend, "they wanna see a goddess willin' ta date them!" Historia stayed silent for a moment.

"That's dumb. I just-" Historia sighed. "I just, I dunno, meet someone who will see the real me y'know?"

Sasha ruffled Historia's hair despite her indignant shouts.

"I'm sure ya will someday," Sasha grinned. She could understand where her small friend was coming from, and it hurt her that she was this upset over it.

"I only hope I do," Historia whispered.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Funny story, I was gonna post chapter 2 immediately after chapter 1. I had the entire chapter written out and I was ready to post it, but then my laptop crashed. And internet explorer disappeared. Along with the chapter. :)  
> Well I rewrote it so there's that!  
> I dunno if I should continue with this fic because I feel like people won't really like it :/ I hope you guys do

 

The bell had rung, signaling the teens that it was time to head to class. The respective pairs said their goodbyes and headed to their homerooms. It seemed like today was going to be a long day for all of them

-

Ymir was one of the first people to enter the classroom. Only two other people were there, seated in the front of the classroom and praying that Ymir wouldn’t see them. Ymir pretended not to notice them cowering in fear and headed to the back corner. _Might as well prepare myself for another lonely year_ , she thought.

Soon enough, more students started to trickle into the doors. They groaned internally; another year with the school’s worst delinquent. The classroom slowly started to get filled and friends were finding friends. They sat in every seat; well, except for the seats surrounding Ymir. If Ymir was ever glad for having a mean face, it was because no one would bother her while she napped. She rested her head on her the cool desk and dozed off.

-

A small blonde entered the room right after Ymir fell asleep. The class was ablaze with murmurs about how cute this girl was. Historia, feeling slightly homicidal due to the snippets of “cute” she heard, walked to the back of the class and sat down. The class went silent. Historia looked to her right to see her seat partner napping.

Historia, deciding that now was the best time for introductions, began to poke the neighbor’s side. They grumbled and shifted slightly. Historia poked their side again and the neighbor stirred once more. The class looked on in horror, but no one dared help. No one wanted to face the wrath of Ymir.

“Wake up already,” Historia muttered. She was about to poke her seat neighbor again when someone spoke up.

“Uh, you shouldn’t do that,” a tall boy said. He was sweating quite profusely, and Historia was sort of amazed that a human body could hold that much water.

“Oh?” Historia smiled sweetly. “Why not?”

The boy blushed. _Typical_ , Historia thought.

“W-Well, that’s cause, uh, that’s Ymir,” the boy replied. “Ymir is known for being a really b-bad person. People say that she’s been expelled cause she keeps getting in fights with teachers.”

Historia turned to seat partner once more and studied them. She couldn’t make out much, but she wasn’t going to judge her until she saw her face. She was about to poke Ymir again when the sweaty boy held her pencil.

“You, uh, really shouldn’t be doing that,” he said once more. Historia was feeling a bit more than just a little homicidal.

Historia looked up at him and smiled sweetly. “What’s ta name?”

“B-Bertl. Short for Bertholdt.”

“Well Bertl,” Historia began. “I’m gonna have ask that ta fuck off.

The class, if possible, got even more silent. It was like they were in a vacuum where sound just didn’t exist.

“W-what?” Bertl wasn’t expecting this at all. All he wanted was to help out the short blonde girl because he knew the bad rumors that followed Ymir. If any of them were true, heaven forbid, he certainly did not want her to suffer for it.

“I told ta. Fuck off.” And with that, Historia resumed poking Ymir’s side.

Bertl, not one wanting anyone to get hurt, still tried to stop her. He held her pencil once more and stood tall. Well, he tried to until Historia looked up to him and glared.

“S-satan?!” He whispered.

“Close to it,” she smiled. In a fluid motion, Historia grabbed Bertl’s arm, twisted so that her back was to her front, and surged forward. Despite having a major height and weight difference, Historia managed to flip Bertl forward with ease, sending him across the room. He crashed into someone’s desk and groaned in pain.

-

 _Holy shit I am most definitely going to die_ , Ymir thought frantically. She had woken from her nap when she felt someone poking at her side. She was going to let it slide but then it happened again. And again. Ymir was going to give this person a piece of her mind when she heard Bertl give the routine “Don’t talk to Ymir, she’s a bad person” talk. Ymir decided to just wait.

But then the little blonde girl lost her shit.

 _Holy fucking shit, I am going to die. I am dead, Ymir is dead. She flipped Bertl across the room and he’s a bulky giant. I’m going to become itty bitty Ymir pieces and Connie won’t ever pay me back those ten dollars._ Ymir mentally prepared herself for her untimely death when she felt pressure on her back.

“Wake up already!” The girl groaned while on Ymir’s back. Ymir was decently sure that at that very moment, she was sweating a whole lot more than Bertl ever did.

Ymir pretended to stir and slowly got up, not wanting to knock the girl off and experience Bertl’s fate. When she fully raised herself, she saw that all eyes were on her and this new girl. She looked out for anyone to help her from this chick, but everyone turned away. _Stupid glaring eyes._

“Nice ta meet ta! I’m Historia Reiss,” the small blond introduced herself.

-

Historia felt pretty proud for introducing herself. She was ready to take drastic measures when her neighbor finally got up. Historia had to stifle a gasp because when they finally met face to face, Historia couldn’t help but be a little awestruck.

This girl, from what Historia could judge from the slight curve of the neighbor’s chest, _was insanely attractive._ She had cold, dead glaring eyes and a lot of freckles. Like, so many freckles that Historia swore she saw the Big Dipper on her face. Historia blushed and waited for the girl to respond.

-

Ymir, on the other hand, was wondering what sins she had committed in her previous life to deserve this. It’s not like Historia looked like a bad person, and who knows, she might even be a really cool girl, but that couldn’t change the fact that she had _flipped Bertl across the room_. Ymir took a deep breath.

“...Ymir,” she responded. Historia beamed.

“Well Ymir, I hope that we become good friends!” Historia looked Ymir over. “Really good friends,” Historia whispered to herself.

Ymir heard Historia’s whisper and swallowed. Trouble just loved following her around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, and have a nice day :D


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a lil cheesy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the sporadic updates, I have finals this coming Tuesday so I've been cramming like crazy. Skipping hw to write was probably not the best idea lol. I wanna continue this fic, but I feel like this chapter could probably end it if I wanted it to. Hmmmmmmmm

"Ymir, wait up!" a soft voice called for the freckled brunette. Ymir thought about making a dash for it, but who knows what Historia would have done if she did. The blonde might have been comically short, but she was scarily fast.  _ And insanely strong,  _ Ymir thought with a shudder, recalling what had happened to Bertl. Ymir paused and waited for her short companion.

 

When Historia caught up, the two began making their trek to the music building. The two didn't have any musically oriented classes, but Connie and Sasha had scoped the place and found a room that was rarely used in the upper sections. It was nicely tucked away so no one would happen to bother them. But with Historia and Ymir around, it wasn't like anyone would in the first place.

 

When the delinquent duo finally reached their destination, they found Connie and Sasha arguing over what seemed to be a bag of chips. They seemed to be fighting over who should get it when Historia cleared her throat. The two seemed to not hear her and continued their argument. Historia cleared her throat again, but Connie and Sasha still didn't hear her. Things were looking pretty bad for them, especially when Historia picked up an abandoned music stand and made her way to them.

 

"H-hey Historia, let's not do that," Ymir started with a panic. Historia either chose to ignore her or didn't hear her as she continued on her way to the two. Ymir ran to her and as Historia lifted the stand over her head, Ymir grabbed her hand.

 

"Let's just wait it out okay?" Ymir spoke close to Historia's ear. Historia flushed and silently put the stand down. If Ymir was ever grateful about Historia's infatuation with her, it was because the violent blonde actually listened to her. Anyone else who did what Ymir did might have been sent to the emergency room. 

 

Ymir sat on the floor and sighed. The first week of school was coming to a close, and her plan of convincing everyone she wasn't a delinquent was going terribly. The main reason being was Historia. Ever since that first day in homeroom, Historia followed Ymir around like a puppy. A very violent and possibly bloodthirsty puppy. The short delinquent had gotten into at least five fights since the school year began and quickly established a reputation as an angel of death. Anyone who got in her way wouldn't be seen the next day. Her hanging around Ymir only reinforced the notion that Ymir was some sort of hoodlum as well. 

 

_ So much for a peaceful school year _ , Ymir solemnly thought. Ymir started thinking about moving to Maria High when Historia plopped herself in front of Ymir. 

 

“Hey ‘Mir,” Historia started. “Are ya happy that we met?”

 

Ymir was thrown off by the question. Her confusion must have shown on her face as Historia quickly continued.

 

“I mean, like, are ya happy that we’re friends?” Historia questioned. “‘Cause I’m real glad that I met ta y’know? Before, it was just me and Sash’ and it was us two against the world. But then I met ya and Connie, and well, it’s not jus’ me and Sash’ against the world anymore. It’s us four, and it feels like it don’t matter who likes us or not. ‘Cause we got each other.” 

 

Ymir stared at the girl in front of her. They had only known each other for a week, but Historia thought that she, Ymir, Connie, and Sasha were the best of friends. Ymir wanted to contradict, because after all, Ymir was certainly not a delinquent like Historia and Sasha, but she paused. Ymir took another look at Historia.

 

Historia was looking at the floor and the tips of her ears were red. _ She must have been embarrassed to reveal that _ , Ymir thought. With her flustered expression, Historia really did look cute. 

 

Ymir stayed silent.

 

-

 

Historia was absolutely sure that she was going to die of embarrassment. 

 

_ There ya go His’, _ she thought angrily to herself.  _ Ya go and blurt out something real deep when ya only known her for a week _ . Historia mentally scolded herself over and over while she waited for Ymir’s response. Connie and Sasha were still fighting over the bag, but Historia could only hear the sound of her beating heart.

 

“Well,” Ymir began. “That was very sentimental.” Historia flushed harder and wondered if she could will herself to disappear.

 

“But I’m glad.”

 

Historia’s head snapped up. The small blonde looked at Ymir who awkwardly looked to the side, trying to conceal a blush dancing on her face. 

 

“I mean, I get you. Before I met you and Sasha it was just me and Connie. Connie was always real popular, but he chose to stick by my side even though he lost a ton of friends over it. It was like it was me and him versus the world, but then I met you during homeroom. And even though you scared the shit outta me when you flipped Bertl, I’m glad that you talked to me. I’m glad that we’re friends.” 

 

Historia studied the girl before her. She was still looking to the side and seemed uncomfortable with sharing her feelings, but to Historia, that just added onto the sentimental value.

 

Historia smiled.

 

-

Ymir didn’t realize how similar she and Historia were. Hearing her say all that made her realize that even though Historia was probably the scariest person she knew, she was still lonely. 

 

Ymir was about to speak again when she was tackled by Connie and Sasha.  _ When the hell did they stop fighting over the chips? _ Ymir pondered as she was crashing to the floor.

 

“I’m glad I met ya guys too!” Sasha sobbed as she tried to hug all of her friends at once.

 

“I am too! I’m glad that my baby ‘Mir made new friends because I thought she was gonna be alone forever!” Connie wailed as he hugged Ymir’s face.

 

Throughout the rest of their lunch, Historia and Ymir tried to pry their friends off them but to no avail. The two accepted their fates and simply hugged them back, glad that they had someone to try and pry off in the first place. 

 

-

 

When the bell rang, the four began to part ways. As Ymir walked to her next class, she thought about Historia and their friendship. It was only a week old, but Ymir saw that it had potential to last a long while. As Ymir thought, Historia passed by and shot a wink at the freckled teen. Ymir’s heart did a flip, but she just rolled her eyes and chuckled.

 

Maybe she wouldn’t mind the trouble following her around. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you for reading and have a wonderful day! If you want me to end the fic here, leave a comment and say so! I'll spend the next few days or two debating if I should continue.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So after continued debates with myself, I decided to continue with the story. Personally, I love this fic more than Look My Way and thanks to the comments (and 3 am revelations) I have the entire story mapped out. It's just a matter of how we're gonna get there ; - ; Since school is out now, I'll probably update this fic and Look My Way more often.  
> Anyways, thank you for the comments. I really appreciate them!

Weeks passed and the quartet were now well into the first semester of school. They had all grown much closer, but in their group, Historia and Ymir became inseparable. They became known as a fearsome duo with many dubbing them something along the lines of “the angel of death and her silent companion”. (Historia and Ymir found it to be very cringey.)

Along with their (unwanted) titles, rumors began to spread about the two girls. Many believed that the two girls were dating. Historia prayed to every god that was out there to make those rumors true. The blonde was pining for her freckled friend _hard_ , and everyone could see it.

It was kind of hard not to notice when Historia blatantly checked out her friend.

(Ymir found out after having overheard Historia mumbling something. She heard the small blonde talk to Sasha about “ _wanting to...those freckles_ ”. Ymir didn’t know if she was glad or terrified to be so freckled.)

 

-

 

Historia and Ymir strolled around the plaza in the bustling city center, joking about Connie and Sasha’s prank on their history teacher Shadis. The two had snuck into his classroom before class and altered his powerpoint on the day’s lecture. When Shadis began his lecture on the imperialization of Africa, his powerpoint was supposed to show maps of European colonies. _Supposed to_. Instead shown was Shadis posing in front of the mirror with extremely tight fitting shorts and a bright neon green tank top.

“How the hell did they even get that picture?” Historia asked in between her fits of laughter.

“Connie said something about finding a website that a lot of the teachers used for socializing,” Ymir grinned.

“Wonder what else is on there,” Historia responded, twirling around to face her partner. Ymir ignored her heart skipping a beat.

Historia opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by the arrival of a greasy looking kid. He was around three inches shorter than Ymir with slicked back brown hair. His eyes were dull looking, his face contorted in what was supposed to be a charming smile, and his eyes blatantly roaming Historia’s body. Ymir already hated this kid.

“Can we help you?” Ymir spat through her teeth. She wasn’t going to be nice to someone disrespecting Historia.

He ignored her and instead walked closer to Historia. He smiled, showing off yellow teeth and breath that smelled like cheap cigarettes. Ymir really wanted to punch this guy, and judging from Historia’s expression, she was about ready to kill him.

“Hey,” he began in a confident tone. “You lost? Cause I’m pretty sure heaven ain’t around here.”

“Back off,” Ymir interjected. “She’s not interested.” She shoved him from Historia, earning a glare. This wasn’t enough to deter his advances, so he continued to try and gain Historia’s attention.

“Hey babe, let’s hang around. I can show you a real good time,” he winked. Historia grabbed Ymir’s hand. Ymir grimaced at the tight hold her friend had.

Historia let go and calmly walked towards her (gross) admirer. He smiled broadly and started saying he was glad she was ditching “the dyke for a real man”, and that they were gonna have so much fun. Ymir knew better than to say anything. The kid was gonna die.

Historia finally came up to him and gave her most heartbreaking smile. He smirked in return, glaring at Ymir. Ymir shrugged, looking away. She whispered a quick prayer and hoped that his soul would find rest.

Historia pulled back her arm and let her fist connect with his nose.

 

-

 

“That was a human before right?” Ymir nudged the heap that lay on the floor with her foot, earning a groan from the heap.

“No. Was scum,” Historia casually responded while taking Ymir’s hand to lead them away. As much as she would like to admire her work, she really didn’t want to go to juvenile hall. Again.

 

-

 

Ymir wanted to say that in counters similar to those, she stood up for her small friend and frightened off the suitors. But if she did, she’d be lying. Historia didn’t really need Ymir’s help which often lead to Ymir witnessing Historia brutally destroy those who crossed her. It was fascinating yet horrifying. Ymir never knew that a human arm could bend in so many different angles.

The students in the school grew increasingly distant with the two due to their reputation becoming more and more violent. Many wondered how Historia even stayed in school with all the fighting. (All Historia had to say was that having Rod Reiss as her dad was pretty convenient.)

Historia was the one that often engaged in violent acts while Ymir just stood back and looked scary. Many believed that Ymir was the mastermind behind the whole situation and credited her with many of the misgivings that occurred in school. Ymir’s excelling grades only furthered this idea; Ymir was one of the top students, so who knows what evil plans she could have come up with? Historia honestly couldn’t care about the situation, but it frustrated Ymir to no end. The freckled teen just wanted to live a normal high school life, but that wasn’t exactly possible when everyone thought she was the embodiment of Cthulu.

 

-

 

“Hey His’,” Ymir grabbed Historia’s attention. The two were currently lazing around in Historia’s house. “Does it ever bother you that people are scared of you? Or avoid you or something just because they think you’re a delinquent?”

“‘Mir, I’m a brawler. I _am_ a delinquent,” Historia chuckled. The question threw her off a little because Ymir didn’t really care about appearances. She was the type to wear a speedo and rock it because of her sheer confidence. Historia only knew that because she experienced it first hand.

“Well yea,” Ymir continued. “But like, does it bother you? How people look at you?”

Historia thought about the question for a few moments. “Not really. Why ta fuck should I care ‘bout how other people see me? It’s my life, and I’m gonna live it how I want with my head held high. I’m Historia fucking Reiss, and if I can’t beat ‘em with my brawls, then my pop can destroy them.”

Ymir’s heart skipped another beat. She ignored it again.

“I don’ know what’s goin’ on with ta ‘Mir. But I’ll be here if ta need me. All I can say is live yer life with yer head held high. Live a life you’d be proud of. That’s what I want from ta.”

 

-

 

Ymir was stunned. Her heart was skipping way too many beats for it to be healthy, but she didn't care.

 _I want to be like Historia_ , Ymir thought. _I want to be like this girl who’s so incredibly short but has enough confidence and pride for ten people. This girl who can kick my ass and probably everyone else’s ass and stand proud._

Ymir got up from her position on Historia’s couch and made her way to the small girl. Her arms suddenly shot out and captured Historia, pulling her close to Ymir. Ymir hugged the girl tight and smiled. She was glad Historia was her friend.

 

-

 

Historia was probably gonna pass out from how close she was to Ymir. The smells of cinnamon and coffee surrounded Historia, emphasizing just how close she was to Ymir.

“Thank you,” Ymir whispered as she held Historia. “You’re such a cool person His’.”

Historia was surprised she was still conscious at this point.

“I may not be a fighter like you, but I’m pretty sure that with my smarts I can be as cool as you one day.” Ymir pulled back to take a look at the small girl, but Historia was gone. Her soul was waving goodbye and thanking life for such a grand experience.

Ymir spent the next half hour trying to get Historia to wake up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Also this is probably the end of all the happy fun times. Next chapter I'm gonna introduce some problems for our lovely delinquent duo.)  
> As always, thank you for reading and have a nice day :D!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a miracle I manage to update this like once a week-ish ; - ; But anywhos, this chapter is the introduction to a lot of problems in the story!

well into the school year, Ymir had come to terms with the fact that she was probably going to be isolated from the rest of the student body for the rest of her high school career. She had also come to terms with the fact that many of the teachers would fear her and suspect her of many different things just because she hung out with Historia and had a scary face. Well, maybe they had a good reason to suspect her. But still, she had accepted this. Expected it even.

What she didn’t really expect was to be called up to the principal’s office for “certain reasons”. As she made her way down to the principal’s office, she thought about all the possible things that she could have done wrong. Normally she wasn’t called up to the principal’s office unless she or Historia did something. Normally it was Historia, but as far as Ymir knew, Historia had been almost angelic this week. It was strange.

When the freckled brunette reached the main office area, a door slammed open with a furious Sasha exiting.

“Don’t ya eva tell me what to do!” Sasha yelled back at whoever was in there. “Ya ain’t even there for her most of the time, what kinda no good fa-” Sasha paused as she saw Ymir standing at the doorway of the office.

Sasha stopped her yelling and calmly approached Ymir. Ymir was a little nervous; Sasha never got that angry, even when Connie accidentally ate the last bag of chips. He was barely a person after Sasha was finished with him, but she wasn’t _mad_. Just mildly annoyed.

Sasha put a hand on Ymir’s shoulder and leaned in close.

“No matter what he says, don’t cha dare listen to him,” she whispered in Ymir’s ear. “She needs ya more than ya know.” Ymir stared at her friend confusedly and was about to ask a question when the secretary called her in to see the principal. Sasha gave Ymir a thumbs up and made her way back to class.

Ymir entered the room Sasha was just in and found two men staring at her. One had neatly combed blonde hair and striking blue eyes. He looked wise and strong, like a commander for an army. Ymir couldn’t help but note that he had really thick eyebrows. Next to him was a man who looked like he had never gotten a good night’s rest in his life. He was balding and had a scraggly beard, his eyes a dull blue in comparison to his companion. He had bags that seemed like it weighed him down, and Ymir felt a little bad for this man. He was obviously in a bad condition.

“Welcome Ms. Nova. Please, take a seat,” the groomed man motioned to a chair in front of his desk. Ymir hesitantly took a seat, staring at the two men.

“Do you know why you were called up?” the man stared at Ymir making her uncomfortable.

“No sir,” Ymir causally responded. She didn’t know why she was here but if she played her cards right, she could get some info.

“You know a Historia Reiss, correct?”

Ymir narrowed her eyes. She knew that Historia had a reputation as a trouble maker, but she didn’t do anything _bad_. Besides break a few arms, but those were totally fair. Historia, even with her love of fighting, only really fought seriously if the situation called for it.

“I do,” Ymir responded slowly. She couldn’t risk giving them unnecessary information.

“She’s your friend correct?” The second man questioned. He startled both Ymir and the first man. His voice was deep and cold, as if he didn’t have any emotion.

“I’m not under any agreement to reveal that information to a potentially dangerous stranger,” Ymir responded nonchalantly, but glared at the man. He seemed unfazed.

“I am Rod Reiss, co founder of this school and father of Historia Reiss.” Ymir was shocked. The alleged Rod Reiss looked nothing like his daughter; Historia was sunshine and angelic while this man looked like he had actually met Cthulu.

“He speaks the truth,” the first man spoke up. “And while we’re on the subject of introductions, I am Mr. Smith. I’m the principal of Shinkgeki High.”

“Now Ymir, the reason why you were called up was to discuss your relationship with Historia. From what we understand, Historia is a… troubled child. She picks fights with others and often sends them to the hospitals. If I weren’t a school authority, I would recommend this girl to my dojo.” Rod cleared his throat.

“Anyways,” Mr. Smith continued, “the point of this conference is that Historia is causing trouble. And as any concerned parent, Mr. Reiss is here to try and intervene before things get too serious.”

Mr. Smith motioned to Historia’s father. Rod stared at Ymir, observing her. Ymir felt like pulling a Historia at the moment.

“Stop associating with my daughter,” Rod firmly stated. Mr. Smith looked shocked. “You’re a delinquent, and my daughter turned into a thug because of people like _you_. She doesn’t need any bad influences in her life. So stop hanging out with her. In return, I’ll pay you as much as you want, of course within a reasonable limit.”

Ymir didn’t know what to say. Stop hanging out with Historia? Admittedly, the freckled teen had thought about that a lot. It would be easier to just ditch Historia and try to build up her reputation as a normal teen. Historia brought in troubles in her life, but that’s what made Ymir’s life so much fun. Ymir thought back to the lunch where Historia had asked Ymir if she was glad to be her friend. And Ymir really was glad that she met Historia.

Ymir stood up and went to Historia’s father. He smiled and handed Ymir a check.

“As much as you want,” he stated. Ymir took the check and ripped it in half.

“No deal,” Ymir smiled as she started to leave the room. Rod looked at her incredulously and Mr. Smith looked like he’d rather not be in the room.

“This isn’t the end,” Ymir heard Rod say as she left the room. “I will make sure that my daughter doesn’t associate with thugs like you.”

As Ymir left the room, she crashed into another girl who had been running. Both of them fell to the floor, and when Ymir opened her eyes, she saw a mess of papers and a girl who looked like she was about to cry.

“Oh no,” the other girl whispered. She had black hair tied into pigtails and dark, vibrant eyes. When she looked up to see who she had crashed into she paled.

“I-I’m so sorry!” The other girl practically wept as she struggled to pick up all her papers. She had bumped into Ymir! The epitome of maliciousness and wickedness!

“It’s alright,” Ymir said as she started to pick up the papers. Once she had collected most of the papers, she set them aside and reached for the other girl’s head. The black haired girl squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself for the worst.

Ymir patted her head and helped her up. “Just be careful next time okay?” The freckled teen gave the girl her stack of papers and left for her class.

“Mina Carolina, please go see Mr. Smith,” the secretary called out to the dark haired girl.

As Mina made her way to the principal’s office, she couldn’t help but think that maybe Ymir wasn’t all that bad.

-

 

“You know of Historia Reiss and Ymir Nova correct?” Mr. Smith asked Mina.

“Y-Yes! Those two have a reputation around the school,” Mina nervously responded.

“Well, Historia may have a reputation well earned, but Ymir does not.”

“What do you mean sir?” Mina was confused. Wasn’t Ymir the most bloodthirsty thug in the school district? Surely people called her Cthulu with good reason, right?

“Well, Ymir hasn’t actually done anything. According to her records, she’s clean. In fact, she’s more than just clean. It says that in middle school she was in the Volunteer Club at Paradis Junior High and the only reason why she quit was because her fellow club members were scared of her.”

“We’re asking you, in short, to help clear Ymir’s reputation,” Rod added. “People are scared of her for no good reason, and we’re asking you to get people to see that she’s not an evil spirit.”

Mina sat in silence, thinking. If what was said was true, that would actually make a lot of sense. Ymir was never actually caught doing anything bad, and most of the time it was her pulling Historia away from fights. Even when people had tried picking fights with her, she would just reply with a glare and walk off.

“Okay,” Mina said at last. “I’ll do it.”

Rod smiled.

 

-

 

Once the teen left the room, Mr. Smith spoke.

“Rod, do you really think this will work?”

“Erwin, trust me. Ymir has a clean slate but has a mean face. She’s bound to want a normal teen life. By giving her that opportunity, she’ll leave my daughter alone. And if Historia is abandoned, she’ll rethink her ways and become the perfect daughter I _know_ she can be.” Rod paused to think.

“Ymir is still a bad influence no matter how clean her slate might be. Historia, for some god awful reason, has an infatuation with the girl. She thinks Ymir is a delinquent, and my daughter will keep on fighting to impress her.”

“I’m impressed,” Erwin said as he leaned back in his chair. “How do you know all this about Historia?”

“I have my ways.”

“You read her diary again didn’t you?”

“I’m going to remind you that I can fire you if I desired.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> (You're pretty awesome :D )


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, i'm like two/three days late, but I did it :D! i didn't really have motivation to write but i was lying in bed, and i just shot up and said, "i need to write BINAD Ch 6 right fucking now" and went to it. It's around 11:55 when I upload this :P

“My name is Mina Carolina! I’d like to be your friend, so please don’t hurt me!” The crowd watched in shock as the dark haired girl stuck her hand out towards Ymir. Mina was trembling, and the whole class stared at her in nervous anticipation. No one dared to take a breath as they observed the interaction. 

Ymir stared at her hand with suspicion. Earlier in the school year, people had started to dare each other to try and become Ymir’s friend as a test of courage. Ymir fell for every single one and was left confused when her new “friends” didn’t hang out with her. After a stern lecture from Historia, Connie, and Sasha, she learned to act with hesitation. 

Historia, on the other hand, was glaring at Mina so hard that the whole class expected the poor girl to combust. Historia’s blue eyes were icy and threatened to hurt Mina if she made a wrong move. Mina knew better than to try anything else because in Historia’s book,  _ everything _ was a wrong move. She had seen Bertl pay the price. Mina hoped that Historia wouldn’t be the first one to react. 

“If this is some stupid dare, please go away. I’ve had more than my fair share of them,” Ymir softly said. The freckled brunette was tired of these pointless interactions, and judging from the way Historia was glaring at Mina, she was too. 

“T-This isn’t a dare! My name is Mina Carolina, I’m 15 years old, I like sheep a lot, and I don’t think you’re a bad person!” Mina exclaimed. The class collectively agreed that white roses would be best for her funeral.

Ymir tilted her head to the side. “Uh, what am I supposed to do with that information?”

Mina flushed. “Um, it’s supposed to help you know that I’m not trying to trick you?”

“Well that ain’t a very convincing way ta do it,” Historia muttered under her breath. The other girls didn’t hear her. 

“Look,” Mina sighed, “I really want to be your friend. I’ve noticed that you aren’t a bad person like everyone makes you out to be. You don’t fight, and you don’t start any trouble. A-And you did help me when I tripped in the office!”

Understanding flooded onto Ymir’s face. “Oh! You’re the cute pigtail girl! I remember you!”

Historia turned her head to face Ymir so fast, the class was surprised that she didn’t get whiplash. When they heard a crack and Historia’s groans, they realized that their first assumption was wrong. The class really hoped that Mina would survive this encounter. 

“Uh, y-yea? I think,” Mina’s blush furthered, heating up the entirety of her face. Ymir, oblivious to the situation at hand, continued. 

“Why do you want to be friends with someone like me?” Ymir enquired. “I’m not exactly someone mom and dad would be proud of.”

“Like I said, I think you’re a good person. And I think that everyone else should realize that too.” Mina directed the last part to her fellow classmates, all of which decided that they’d rather not listen to the conversation anymore. Mina sighed as she watched her peers distract themselves from her conversation. 

“You’re a funny one y’know?” Ymir chuckled as she reached out to ruffle Mina’s hair. The dark haired girl blushed once more. Historia glared at Mina and wanted to “have a talk” with her, but she decided against it. Ymir looked happy at the thought of another friend, and Historia didn’t want to take that away from her. 

Ymir stuck out her hand. “I’m Ymir Nova.” She grinned. “Nice to meet you.”

Mina took Ymir’s hand in hers. “I’m Mina. It’s nice to meet you too Ymir.”

_ And I’m Historia _ , the blonde sullenly thought to herself.  _ And I think I’m gonna be sick _ .

-

Mina sat with the delinquent duo for the rest of the class period. When the bell rung, the three went their own ways to class but soon found out that Ymir and Mina had the same one.    
“Woah, how come I’ve never noticed this before?” Ymir thought out loud to herself. Mina chuckled beside her. 

“All class period you just focus on whatever the teacher assigns you. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you lift your head up.”

“Hm, stare at me much do ya?” Ymir winked and chuckled. Mina flushed and sputtered a response, but it was drowned out by Ymir’s laughter. They approached the class when Ymir jogged to the door and held it open.    
“For you,” Ymir bowed as she opened the door. 

Mina laughed and told Ymir to quit being stupid. She entered the class with Ymir right behind her, garnering stares from their classmates. The two sat next to each other, too absorbed in their conversation to notice the whispers of their peers. 

“Um, hey Mina!” a voice piped up. Mina looked up and saw Hannah, one of her friends. Hannah looked skittish and kept sneaking peeks at Ymir. Ymir had put her head down on the table and pretended not to exist. 

“Hey Hannah, what’s up?” Mina smiled. Hannah eased somewhat but kept a rigid stance. 

“Well, I was wondering if you wanted to sit with me. Y’know because uh…” Hannah didn’t finish her sentence, but she tilted her head to Ymir. 

“Uh, no thanks. I’m sitting with Ymir.”

“Are you  _ sure _ you want to do that?” Mina glanced over at Ymir and saw that she stiffened.

“Yea, I’m sure. Thanks for asking though!” Mina felt terrible. She never realized just how bad Ymir had it. Principal Smith was right; she was clean, most certainly not a delinquent, and she had feelings. As cheesy as it sounded, Mina realized that some things really did get to the freckled teen. Mina felt terrible when she realized that she, and many others, probably hurt Ymir. 

Intentionally and not. 

She watched Hannah go back to her seat and tapped Ymir’s shoulder. Ymir lifted her head.

“You aren’t gonna go with her?” Ymir asked. 

Mina smiled and shook her head. “Nah, I figured I might as well spend time with my new friend.”

Ymir blushed, her heart beating hard. She had made a new friend, and it felt amazing. 

Ymir was really happy. 

-

Historia was really mad. 

“God damn it Sash’!” Historia yelled as she kicked a tree. “First, my dad comes back from his trip, then this Meena chick gets all cozy with  _ my  _ ‘Mir, and then they have ta same fuckin’ class!” 

Sasha snacked on a bag of chips as she watched her best friend beat the poor tree. “Hey, when did she ever become yer ‘Mir?”

“It was implied!” Historia flushed as she fumed. She vented her anger by delivering a nice roundhouse kick to the spot she had been kicking, causing the tree to snap in half. 

“Okay, but did ya ever tell her how ya feel?” Sasha munched on a chip as Historia went to another tree. 

“That was also implied!” Historia’s ears turned red from embarrassment and exertion as she started kicking again. 

“His’, my baby, my wonderful little baby,” Sasha said in a soothing voice. “You’re a little stupid y’know?” Historia kicked the tree just a little harder. 

“How is ‘Mir supposed to know if you don’t tell her? She couldn’t figure out that people weren’t tryna be her friend for real. And remember that night where she bought that ‘magic vase’ sayin’ it was gonna bring us good luck?”

“She’s smart with ta books. I don’t get why she can’t be smart with common sense,” Historia muttered to herself.

“Exactly. So how the hell is she supposed to know when ya don’t tell her?” Historia stopped kicking and looked down. 

Sasha was right; how was Ymir supposed to know if Historia didn’t ever tell her? Historia didn’t want to see Ymir get snatched away from her because Mina decided to put the moves on her first. 

“...Okay Sash’. I’ll tell her,” Historia said with vigor as she resumed kicking. 

“Atta girl!” Sasha chuckled. She knew that Ymir knew about Historia’s crush, but she figured that Historia proclaiming her romantic affections for the freckled teen would make things easier. Sasha saw the way Ymir looked at the blonde, and if that wasn’t romance, she didn’t know what was. 

_ Although _ , Sasha thought to herself,  _ it’d be best if ‘Mir finally acknowledged those feelings. She’s probably too dense to notice them.  _

“Now moving on to the next problem: yer dad. What’s up this time cupcake?” Sasha asked her friend. 

“Ever since he’s been back, he’s been tryna get me into all these programs,” Historia said in between her attacks. “Ballet, photography, music, all that shit.”

“How many have you been kicked out of?”

“Surprisin’ but only ballet and photography. They moved me to the drums and shit in music to help vent. I don’t sound too bad.”

“Anythin’ else?”

“He’s been sayin’ this shit ‘bout who I hang out with. Says that I need to stop foolin’ ‘round with you guys and get in a ‘better crowd’.” Historia kicked the tree with renewed vigor, chipping away at the wood. “‘Better crowd’ my ass.” 

“He’s just tryna get ya to be someone ya ain’t. Like one of those prissy dolls.” Historia hummed in agreement. Sasha thought about bringing up the principal calling her and Ymir up, but decided against it. Historia didn’t need that kind of stress in her life. 

A blue car rolled up to the two girls, holding two smiling occupants.

“Hey guys!” Connie yelled. “Sleepover at ‘Mir’s remember?” 

“Get your asses over here!” Ymir laughed. 

Sasha and Historia looked at one another and smiled. They raced to Connie’s car, laughing and yelling in frustration as Connie would speed off every time they came close. When the two girls finally reached the car, Ymir blasted the radio.

Historia forgot about her troubles. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> (You look absolutely stunning today :D )


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update! Things have been a little hectic as of late (with band sectionals and friends and what not), so I didn't really have time to update. There might be a late update next week, but I'll try my best to stay on schedule!   
> [Also guess who just got a year older ;) ]

“And then Connie just throws the pig across the room!” Ymir exclaimed. Mina burst into laughter, clutching her sides. After a few moments silence returned, but after sharing a look the two erupted into a fit of giggles. 

Historia stood to the side, glaring at any passerby that happened to cross their way. Any poor soul who crossed her way was given the death glare, causing the crowd to part for the three girls. It didn’t take much to know that Historia was in a bad mood. 

_ ‘Mir doesn’t giggle _ , the blonde bitterly thought to herself.  _ She’s way too cool to be gigglin’.  _ Historia looked at her side.  _ Stupid Mina. _

Historia was jealous. It was clear by the glares she sent Mina’s way when she wasn’t looking, the way she clung onto Ymir even more than usual, how she tried (many times) to fight with Mina. It took the combined strengths of both Connie and Sasha in order to subdue her. And yet, the small blonde girl just couldn’t contain her hatred for the black haired girl. She knew that she was being irrational, but she couldn’t help it. Something about her just irked her. 

Historia took a peek at Ymir and Mina. Mina was holding Ymir’s arm close to her chest, and Ymir was blushing while telling her to shove off. Historia’s blood lust peaked, and the surrounding students fled in fear. 

Yup, there was just something about Mina that irked Historia. 

-

Ymir was in a good mood.

It had been a week since Mina had introduced herself to Ymir and became her friend. Within that week, the two became best friends. Sure they didn’t know much about each other, but they acted like they were childhood friends. Their friendship rivaled Connie’s and Ymir’s, and those two were as close as two could be. 

They were walking to their shared class when Mina noticed the space around them. Normally she didn’t notice because she was busy talking to Ymir, but today she noticed that there was a good distance between them and the rest of the crowd. 

“Hey Ymir,” Mina started. “Don’t you think there’s an awful lot of space between us and the others?”

Ymir took a quick survey and smiled. “Hey! That’s the closest people have been to me since primary!” Ymir turned to face Mina. “Isn’t that great?”

Mina nodded, sending Ymir a smile back. It was strained, but Ymir didn’t seem to notice. Mina thought back to her conversation with Principal Smith and decided that she would finally put that plan into motion. 

“Hey ‘Mir, doesn’t it ever bother you that people treat you like a hoodlum?” Mina asked.

Ymir looked to be deep in thought, worrying Mina that she had crossed the line. Right as Mina was about to change the topic, Ymir spoke. 

“Who says hoodlum unironically?” She smirked. Mina flushed and threw a punch at Ymir. The taller girl groaned in pain while Mina huffed and walked along. Ymir did an awkward jog clenching her arm to catch up. 

“Okay, okay. In all honesty, yea it does.” Mina looked up to her freckled friend. Ymir looked incredibly sad, her eyes glazed over with past traumas. Ymir caught Mina staring and replaced her somber expression with a smile. “But I mean, what can ya do? It doesn’t suck that much. I have friends now. Connie, Historia, Sasha, and now you.”

Mina mulled over this new information as the two made their way to class. Mina knew that Ymir obviously wasn’t a delinquent, and judging from her earlier expression, Ymir wasn’t okay with people thinking she was one. But what could Mina do? There had to be something to convince everyone that Ymir wasn’t a bad person, but what was that something?

Mina was consumed with her thoughts all class, barely paying attention to the teacher. All throughout the day she thought about Ymir and her dilemma. She thought back to her conversation with Principal Smith, retracing it for any possible clues. 

_ It says that in middle school she was in the Volunteer Club at Paradis Junior High and the only reason why she quit was because her fellow club members were scared of her. _

“Aha!” Inspiration struck Mina as she cried and stood up in her class. Her classmates stared at her in confusion and she flushed in embarrassment.  

“That’s the spirit Mina!” Professor Hanji complimented. She flushed further and smiled at her new idea. 

-

“So you’re saying you want me to join the volunteer club with you?” Ymir stared at the other girl in confusion. Mina nodded with enthusiasm. 

Mina had invited over Ymir to her house in order to talk about “something important”. Ymir didn’t understand how volunteering could be so important to Mina, but she wasn’t gonna judge. 

“Yes! This is the perfect solution to your whole problem!” Mina exclaimed excitedly.

“My what now?” 

“The whole,” Mina waved her hands frantically, “delinquent thing!”

A light bulb flashed in Ymir’s head. “You...want to clear up the misunderstanding?”

“Yes, exactly! I want people to know that you’re a hecka good person!”     
Ymir laughed and Mina tilted her head in confusion. “Hecka? Who even says hecka anymore?”

Mina socked Ymir in the arm. 

“Anyways, jerk, yes I do. Because people should know about how much of a softie you are!” Mina laughed as Ymir rubbed her arm. “Jeez, considering you hang out with Historia a lot, you’re pretty weak.”

“Hey, I take offense to that!” Mina giggled. “I just look scary. I’m not as scary strong as His’.”

“Anyways you lil troublemaker, join the volunteering club with me! If you join people will understand!”

“Do you think so?”

“Slowly but surely my friend.” Mina smiled. “It’ll be like Paradis all over again!”

Ymir squinted her eyes. “Paradis?”

Mina was about to agree but held back from exclaiming. She realized her mistake. 

“How do you know I was in the volunteer club in Paradis?” 

Mina panicked. She searched for an answer in her head, but with each passing moment there was nothing. She knew that Ymir was starting to grow suspicious, and Mina searched around her head for any source of inspiration. 

_ Flower...grass...cloud...dog...cat? Hairless cat? Bald cat? _

_ Aha! _

“Connie!” Mina exclaimed. Ymir cocked an eyebrow.

“Connie told me about Paradis.” Mina hated lying to Ymir but she couldn’t tell the truth. It was too early. “I wanted to know more about you so I asked.”

Ymir was silent for a few moments. Mina felt like she sweated enough to fill the ocean.

“That’s weird.” Mina breathed a sigh of relief. “But alright I guess.”

“Then let’s get to it!” 

-

Historia felt a strong shiver go down her body. She paused in her walking and held herself, waiting for the tremors to stop. Sasha noticed her friend’s abrupt halt and went to her side, a questioning look on her. Historia released a breath she didn’t know she had held and continued walking. 

“You wanna tell me what that was?” Sasha asked as she walked alongside the blonde. 

“I don’t know,” Historia shrugged. “I guess it was a body earthquake thing.”

“His’. My beautiful baby His’. What in the fuck is a body earthquake?”

“Shaddup Sash’.” Historia flushed. “They just happen ev’ry once in awhile.”

“Well, when do they happen?” 

Historia’s gaze darkened a bit. “Usually when something bad’s gonna happen.”

Sasha noticed her friend’s dark look and grabbed her hand. She sent Historia a smile and her a hand a squeeze. 

“C’mon His’, you’re being too superstitious. What’s the worst that could happen?”

Historia sent Sasha a smile of her own. But Historia couldn’t shake off the feeling that something bad was coming their way. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> (I really appreciate you guys, like I love the comments and kudos and aghhhh. You guys are great. Thank you for existing :D )


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhhh, I can see the end of this fic coming. It's not soon (I think) but it's getting there   
> also I apologize for the lack of Historia but she's coming back soon

The students in the classroom were silent, staring at their teacher. They didn’t dare speak out or attempt to move; they were frozen. A quick survey around the room showed that almost every single student was terrified. The teacher couldn’t blame them; she was a bit scared as well. It wasn’t every day that one of the most terrifying thugs in the history of the school wanted to join the Volunteer Club. 

Ymir stood in the front of the class with Mina. Mina was wearing a bright smile that radiated positivity; Ymir was glaring at the back wall. The two waited for the teacher to introduce them.

“W-Well guys,” the teacher started. “It seems that we have two new members in our little club. So why don’t you guys introduce yourselves?” 

“Hi! I’m Mina Carolina and I’m excited to be a part of this club! I hope that we can do some good in our time here!” Mina turned expectantly to Ymir, waiting for her to introduce herself. Ymir stayed silent, staring at the back wall. The room grew tenser with every moment of silence that passed by. Mina elbowed Ymir in the side hard, and she gave a yelp.

“Ymir, introduce yourself,” Mina said. Ymir was going to keep her mouth silent, but Mina had a dangerous glint in her eyes.

“...I’m Ymir.” The rest of the club members waited for Ymir to continue speaking, but she remained silent. The teacher sighed, but smiled at Mina. 

“I’m Ms. Ral, but you can call me Petra,” she faced the other club members. “Alright guys, introduce yourselves to our new club mates.”

There weren’t many people in the club. Including Petra, there were four club members in all. They barely took up the first row of desks in the room.

“H-Hi,” a freckled boy stood up from his chair. He had short hair that was neatly parted in the middle. Mina rubbed her eyes; this guy kind of looked like Ymir. “My name is Marco Bodt, and it’s nice to meet you. I’m the club president.”

“Holy shit, you could be my twin,” Ymir spoke, startling everyone. Marco gave a nervous chuckle and nodded.

“I’ve been told.” He smiled. “I know the club seems kinda empty, but just wait until college apps season. It fills up really quick.”

“Speaking of which, you have yet to fill yours out Marco,” Petra playfully scolded him. “It’s your last year, you can’t be slacking off.” Marco laughed and sat down. 

A muscular blonde boy stood up next. “My name is Reiner Braun. I’m in the wrestling club and judo, I can lift 150 pounds, and I suggest that no one does anything they would regret while in this club.” He glared at Ymir. Ymir remained stoic, somewhat infuriating Reiner. He sat down, and the person next to him stood up. 

“H-Hello,” he began. Ymir and Mina looked at him in amazement; he was a giant. Another glance showed that he was a very _ sweaty _ giant. “I’m Bertl. I-I’m the vice president of the club.”

Ymir made her way to Bertl and stared at him. He started sweating profusely and glanced to Reiner. Reiner looked ready to pounce on Ymir. 

“I’m sorry Historia flipped you over on the first day of school,” Ymir put her hand out. Bertl stared at it with wide eyes. Was this a trick? Ymir was actually being courteous. 

Bertl cautiously took her hand and they shook. “I-It’s okay. It was partly my fault for being so intrusive.”

“Nah, Historia was just really wild. But she’s not as violent as before,” Ymir said. “At least I think she isn’t.”

Ymir went back to Mina’s side, remaining as stoic as she was before. Mina nudged her and once she had grabbed Ymir’s attention, she smiled. Normally Ymir would shrug it off, but it seemed like Mina’s smile was different than usual. It seemed...cuter than usual. Ymir flushed at the thought and felt her heart speed up. She covered her face with her hand and tried thinking about other things to lessen her embarrassment. She was stuck thinking about cute things, and eventually her mind made its way to Historia.Ymir felt her heart pick up in speed and her face flushed harder.

Ymir groaned, and everyone looked at her in confusion. 

_ Those two are gonna be the death of me _ , Ymir thought to herself as the club made its way to their first assignment.

Petra led the teens outside of the classroom while explaining what their assignment was for the day. 

“Okay guys, today Principal Smith has asked us to help out the gardening club with their crops since they’re out on a... _ field _ trip today.”

“Petra, that pun was bad and you should feel bad,” Marco laughed. Petra turned back to give him a glare, but soon enough she was laughing as well. 

“Shut up Bodt. Anyways guys, they’re actually out so we’ll be gardening today.”

“Are we allowed to take some of the food home?” Reiner thought about the fields the gardening club occupied. The gardens were filled with delicious looking fruits and vegetables, and Reiner almost drooled at the thought. 

“I wouldn’t recommend it Reiner. Hanji has been experimenting on them,” Petra responded. “I mean, you can if you wanna risk it.”

“What’s the worst that could happen?”

“I ate one of Hanji’s experimented fruits and parts of my hair turned white,” Ymir casually responded. The club members looked at her in shock. “Uh, it was a joke.”

No one laughed, and the atmosphere became tense again. Mina felt a little bad; it was obvious that her plan wasn’t going as great as she thought it would. She lingered behind the group a tad bit, and already she could see that the other club members weren’t getting too close to Ymir. Mina thought in the silence, wondering how she could lighten the mood and get the club members to interact with her freckled friend. She smirked when she came up with an idea. 

“Hey Ymir, did you really eat one of Professor Zoe’s fruit?” asked Mina. 

“Yea. I ended up with a really bad stomach ache for the rest of the day.”

“I don’t think your joke was just a joke then. I see a bundle of white hair on your hair.”

“What?!” Ymir tried turning her head to see the back of her head, resembling a puppy trying to catch their tail. Marco, Reiner, and Bertl looked in confusion, but understanding dawned on their faces when Mina pressed her finger to her lips. Marco and Bertl smiled while Reiner refocused on following Petra. 

“Yea Ymir, I see a bunch of white hairs on your head,” Marco joined in. Bertl’s face turned red from holding in his laughter. Ymir continued on trying to see if she had white hairs by turning and turning.

The group left the building they had been in, and soon they were heading towards the garden fields. They passed by potted plants and trees on their way, and Bertl noticed that some of the potted plants had white minerals. He slowed down his steps, putting himself in the back of the group. He quickly gathered some of the white minerals and tried drawing with them on the pots. They acted like chalk, and Bertl smiled. He quickly hurried back to the group,  hands hiding the chalk like minerals. 

“Yea, Ymir, your hair is white right here,” he smeared a little bit of the minerals on Ymir’s head, turning some of her hair white. Mina and Marco almost laughed out loud. 

“What the fuck?” Ymir plucked one of her hairs where Bertl had smeared the minerals. She brought it to her face and saw that her hair was indeed white. Her eyes widened, and Mina, Marco, and Bertl turned red from holding in their laughter.

“WHAT THE FUCK, HOLY SHIT, HOLY SHIT GUYS,” Ymir yelled. Mina, Marco, and Bertl finally let themselves laugh, clutching their sides from how hard they were laughing.

“GUYS THIS ISN’T FUNNY.” Ymir was clutching her shirt with one hand while she continued staring at her white hair. “I DON’T WANNA DIE JUST BECAUSE I ATE A STUPID ORANGE.”

Petra started chuckling while the others were red with how hard they were laughing. Reiner ignored them and continue onwards. Eventually, they reached the fields and everyone had calmed down with the exception of Ymir. 

“Okay guys, all we need to do is plant some new crops and water the fields,” Petra motioned towards the plants and the water buckets. “Let’s get to it.”

The teens did as they were told, splitting up to get their jobs done faster. They all worked diligently, and Petra was astonished with how fast they were going. She hadn’t expected Ymir to be such a hard worker, and watched with interest as Ymir did most of the heavy work with no complaints. Petra watched Ymir and noticed that Bertl was behind her. Mina and Marco joined in, and Petra watched as the teens smear something white on Ymir’s head, making all of her head white. 

Ymir didn’t notice, too absorbed in her work. When Marco caught her attention, the other freckled teen frantically touched her head. Mina pulled out her phone to show Ymir something, and Ymir shot up while yelling. The three burst out with laughter while Ymir ran to Petra.

“P-Petra! These plants are devil plants! I don’t want to die, save me!” Petra stared at Ymir in confusion while the teen continued to ramble. The three teens silently made their way behind Ymir and put their fingers to their lips. Petra smiled, and waited patiently for Ymir to finish her ramble.

“I’m sorry to say Ymir, but you only have a few days to live left. If you experience any headaches or side pains, it’s too late.”

They spent the rest of the day teasing Ymir. Well, everyone except Reiner, who glared at Ymir every chance he got.

-

After Ymir’s and Mina’s first day of club, Marco, Bertl, and Petra had warmed up to Ymir. The club met up three times a week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for three hours. They often helped out with the elementary school that was next door and more often than not finished their work early. They would spend the rest of the time back in their classroom hanging out. 

Although Ymir and Mina had only been in the club for a week, they felt like they knew the club members intimately. They had all become good friends, greeting each other in the hallways and sometimes sitting together at lunch. Petra would often scold Ymir when she heard from other teachers how she came to class late because she was hanging out with Historia. 

Speaking of the little blonde, Ymir hadn’t seen her during the week, and she was starting to miss her friend. Ymir felt bad about not hanging out with the blonde as often as she used to, and she could tell that Historia was starting to get lonely. Sure they hung out during school, but Historia refused to sit with Ymir’s new friends. Ymir was torn between her two friend groups.

On Friday, Ymir sat with Connie, Historia, and Sasha. The four were back in their secret room in the music building, laughing and eating. Ymir felt a twang of guilt as she realized that this was the second time that week that she had sat with them. She had sat with Mina, Marco, Bertl, and Reiner in Petra’s room since her first day in the club. 

She was snapped out of her thoughts when she felt a weight on her arm. She looked down and saw Historia leaning on her. Ymir felt her heart pick up in speed when Historia looked up and smiled at her. 

“I really missed ya y’know,” Historia said as she watched Connie and Sasha duel with the music stands. She let out a chuckle when she saw Connie’s stand break off. Ymir didn’t pay attention to the two and instead focused on Historia.

“It’s only been, like, four days,” Ymir said. She saw Historia pout and look up at her. Her heart’s rate grew faster and her face felt hot, but she ignored it. 

“Am I not allowed ta miss ya?” 

“Nah, you are. I’d miss me too.” Ymir let out a snicker but groaned in pain when Historia punched her arm. “I missed you too His’.”

“‘I’d miss me too.’” Historia chuckled and Ymir groaned. The two sighed with content as they spent their lunch together. When the bell rang, the two felt like it had been too soon.

“Hey His’, do you wanna hang out tomorrow?” Ymir asked as she held her hand out to her friend. When Historia took it and pulled herself up, she pulled Ymir in for a tight embrace. Ymir flushed at how close Historia was and how the blonde buried her face in Ymir’s chest.

“I really did miss you ‘Mir. A whole lot.”

Ymir ran her hands through Historia’s hair before hugging her back. 

“I missed you too.”

The two walked to class with Historia clinging on to Ymir’s arm. Ymir didn’t mind that Historia was so close or that they were both late to class. 

Ymir figured that the fluffy feeling in her chest was just happiness. She thought nothing more of how much she missed Historia even though it had been four days, she thought nothing more of how she wanted to spend every day with the blonde, and she thought nothing more of the twang of jealousy she felt when she saw a male classmate talk to her.

She ignored her racing heart and her flushed face and went to class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> (you're quite beautiful)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have band camp and community service coming up, so chapters might be a little more delayed than usual. plus school so agh. I'll try to remain consistent for you guys :)

“Ughhhh,” Ymir moaned as she carried a potted plant towards the classroom. Mina sighed; this wasn’t the first time Ymir let out a tortured sound, and it was most definitely not going to be the last. 

“What is it Ymir?” Mina asked while she walked alongside Ymir with her own potted plant. The Volunteer Club was helping out the elementary next door, doing whatever odd tasks the principal had in store. 

“I miss Historia.” Mina sighed again. It was Wednesday, and since the week started Ymir complained about never being able to see her small blonde friend. 

“Didn’t you see her like, on Saturday?” 

“I did, but then she had to leave halfway because of her dad.” Ymir paused. “Actually, come to think of it we haven’t been able to hang out a lot  _ because _ of her dad.”

“You think so?”

“Actually, I know so.” Ymir gave Mina a bitter grin.”Don’t tell anyone I told you, but a while back I got called to Smith’s office. Historia’s dad was there, and he basically told me to stay away from his daughter because I’m a delinquent.” Ymir laughed, and Mina cringed at how empty it sounded. 

“Thing is though, I’m not. But he’s so dead set on that idea that he’s signed up Historia for all these different classes that she doesn’t like. And it’s weird cause her schedule perfectly lines up the days where I’m free, and hers mine. We basically never see each other except at school.”

Ymir and Mina soon came upon a classroom decorated with brightly colored drawings and posters with smiling faces. They dropped off the plants at the class and went back to fetch the rest. 

“It’s weird. How does he even know the days I have Volunteer Club? It’s like...like he has a snitch y’know?” Ymir blew air through her teeth. “I swear, he probably bribed someone to spy on me.”

Mina stayed silent, feeling uncomfortable. To her knowledge, Ymir had only been sent to the principal’s office once. That was probably the day that she bumped into Ymir, and the same day Mr. Smith and Mr. Reiss convinced her to persuade Ymir to join the Volunteer Club. Mina lagged behind, occupied with her thoughts. 

_ I’m the snitch aren’t I? _

Mina convinced Ymir to join the volunteer club at the two men’s suggestion. All Mr. Reiss would have to do is ask Erwin when the club met up so he could plan accordingly. The more and more Mina thought about it, the more it made sense; she separated Ymir and Historia. 

_ But is that a bad thing? _

Ymir was seen as a delinquent in the school because of her scary face and her friendship with Historia. She couldn’t really “fix” her face, but she could prove that she was a good person. And she was doing just that, by being in the Volunteer Club. If she hung out with Historia, people would continue to think that she was a bad person. That she was a delinquent. 

Mina looked up, pulling herself from her thoughts momentarily. She saw Marco and Bertl chase Ymir around with a hose, the two laughing while Ymir yelled. Petra was laughing, encouraging Marco to run faster. Although Ymir was screaming obscenities at the top of her lungs, she had a bright smile on her face. 

_ No _ , Mina thought.  _ Ymir deserves a chance to prove herself and make friends. And if that means separating her and Historia, then I’ll do just that. _

-

Reiner absolutely hated Ymir. 

What business did she have waltzing into the club room and expecting to be let in? She didn’t even properly introduce herself! And to make matters worse, her best friend had flipped Bertl! Flipped him across the room, making him spend half the day in the nurse’s office! Reiner didn’t understand why Bertl had been so quick to forgive, and why he was acting like he was actually  _ friends _ with that lunatic.

Reiner sighed as he set down the last of the potted plants near the entrance of the classroom. He just didn’t understand why everyone accepted her just like that. Wasn’t she one of the most feared delinquents in school?  _ Ever _ ? Didn’t people quake in their shoes when she walked by? So why the hell did they even become friends with her? Why did they even let her in the club? She was a jerk,  _ a thug _ . She didn’t belong with them. 

The sound of crying brought Reiner back. He stayed at the entrance of the classroom, debating whether or not he should investigate. When the sobs began growing in volume, he relented and entered. 

When he went inside the classroom, he saw four children crying and one with their eyes downcast. The four crying children were in a circle around the one not crying, and on the floor was a broken action figure. It didn’t take much to know that the kids were crying because of that toy. 

“Hey,” Reiner kneeled down in front of the kids. “What happened here?”

“H-He,” a little girl pointed at the child in the middle with a pudgy finger. “He…” She couldn’t finish her sentence, instead breaking out into a loud wail. 

Reiner looked to the child in the middle. “Did you break the toy?”

The child looked up, and Reiner was a bit taken aback. The kid in the middle had sharp eyes, kind of scary looking. He looked angry, and Reiner wasn’t sure if it was because of the situation he was in or if that was just the way he naturally looked. Reiner was instantly reminded of Ymir, and he felt a little bad. In a passing moment, Reiner guiltily thought that he didn’t like the kid. He shook his head. 

_ I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. _

The child with the angry eyes spoke, “I-”

“Yea! He did it!” Another child from the circle exclaimed. His eyes were a bit red and puffy from crying. “He always breaks our things!”

“Yea!” Another child spoke, with snot running down his nose. He hastily wiped away at his nose. “He always breaks our things! He’s...He’s a- a jerk!”

The other kids gasped. “Yea, I said it! Even though Ms. Rico says not to, he deserves it! He’s a jerk!”

The child in the middle grabbed at his shirt and clenched. Reiner didn’t let the action go unnoticed. Was this child really such a trouble maker?

_ Well if he is _ , Reiner thought,  _ his appearance would match _ . 

“H-He’s not wrong,” the girl from the beginning spoke. “He, um, always gets in trouble.”

“But I-”

“Yea! He always gets in trouble!”

“No, I-”

“And he says mean things too!”

“I don-”

At this point, the kids were all talking over each other. Reiner sighed; little kids just didn’t know control. He observed the kids again. The four in the circle had puffy and red eyes while the child in the middle was clenching his shirt tightly. His little knuckles were turning white, and throughout this entire ordeal, he didn’t look up once. The four kids were talking about the trouble he got into, and how he couldn’t control his anger. 

“Alright alright,” Reiner began. “Settle down.” 

The four kids quieted. Reiner scooted himself closer to the middle, and once again went on his knee. The kid in the middle refused to look up, and instead was staring at his shoes. His hand was turning white from how tightly he held his shirt.    
“Hey.” Reiner slowly stuck his hand out to not startle the kid. He touched the child, and even though he went as slowly as he could, the kid still flinched. The child slowly lifted his head up, his eyes still looking angry but with a hint of sadness. “Can you tell me what your name is?”

“...Horik.”

“Okay Horik, I’m gonna need you to do something for me okay?” Horik slowly nodded his head. “Can you apologize to these kids to me?”

“...I can’t.” Reiner sighed. He didn’t want things to get difficult if this kid wasn’t going to cooperate with him. Worst case scenario, he would have to get the teacher involved so the kid could get his punishment. 

“Why not? You broke their toy. You have to take responsibility.”

“...Ms. Rico says that you shouldn’t say sorry for something you didn’t do.”

“Well, who else could have broken their toy? A ghost?” The other kids laughed, and Reiner flashed a smile. Horik looked down again, hands fiddling with his shirt. 

“What’s going on?” Ymir’s voice caused everyone to turn to her. She entered the classroom with Mina right behind her. She settled herself on the floor, sitting with her legs open while Mina sat next to her. Reiner felt anger bubble up in his stomach, but he tried to calm himself for the kids. 

“He broke our toy!” One of the kids pointed a finger at Horik. Horik’s tiny knuckles were turning white again. Ymir didn’t let this slide by. She tilted an eyebrow towards Reiner and he nodded. Ymir turned her attention to Horik. She cleared her throat, and Horik looked up. 

“Did you break their toy?”

“I d-”

“He did! We told you!” One of the other children spoke. 

“I didn’t ask you. I asked, uh-”

“His name is Horik.” Another child answered. Under her breath, she muttered, “Horik the Horrid.” Horik heard her and flushed a deep red. Ymir had heard her as well. 

“What did you call him?”

The girl’s eyes widened in surprise. “I, um, didn’t say anything!”

“Lying isn’t good. Lying gets you in trouble, and maybe I should call Ms. Rico if you’re gonna lie to me.”

“No! Don’t call Ms. Rico!” The little girl’s eyes flitted all around the room except for Horik and Ymir. “I called him...Horik the Horrid.”

“Why would you call him that?”

“Because he’s terrible! We all hate him!” Reiner was about to interrupt, but Ymir held up her hand, silencing him. 

“Why do you hate him?”

“Because he’s scary looking! And his dad looks scary too!”

“What about the toy?”

“What toy?” Ymir raised her eyebrows in mock surprise. Mina watched on, thinking that Ymir could probably be a lawyer if she played her cards right. Reiner stayed silent as well, slowly starting to understand the situation but refusing to believe what Ymir was trying to show him. 

“Well then.” Ymir cleared her throat. “So Horik, did you break the toy?”

“...No.”

“Well, can you tell us who broke it then? And why?”

“...They did. Cause I wouldn’t share it with them. They got mad.”

Ymir looked to Reiner and nodded at him and the toy. Reiner picked up the toy and inspected it. It was a small red Power Ranger missing an arm and a head. He turned the toy around, and found Horik scribbled on the back in neat cursive. Reiner groaned in his head. 

“...It says Horik,” Reiner reluctantly admitted. 

“Well then, I guess that settles it. I guess I’ll go get Ms. Rico.” The four other kids cried, begging her not to. Horik finally let go of his shirt and looked relieved. He ran up to Ymir and tackled her in a hug, nuzzling his face to her chest. Ymir awkwardly left her hands in the air while Mina laughed. Ymir finally put her arms around Horik, muttering, “It’s alright kiddo. I’m here for ya.” Finally, Ms. Rico entered the room. She took a quick survey of the situation and quirked an eyebrow.

“Ymir, are you bullying my students?”

Ymir laughed. She replied with a quick no and began retelling what had happened. Ms. Rico sighed, reprimanding the students and giving them lunch detention for a week. The four cried harder and were sent outside. Ms. Rico pulled the three teens (plus Horik, who was still hugging Ymir as she held them up) to talk to them. 

“Thank you for settling that.” Ms. Rico rustled Ymir’s hair, making Ymir grin. “Those four are notorious for bullying, especially when it comes to Horik.” Horik grabbed on to Ymir’s shirt a bit tighter, nuzzling a bit harder. 

“I don’t know why they do it. Horik is such a sweet child. He gets good grades and he always helps out in the classroom, and yet his classmates are terrified of him. A pity, he’s a real charmer.”

“...It’s cause of my face. They think I look scary.” Horik’s words were muffled by Ymir’s shirt. 

Ms. Rico sighed. “Then I guess we’ll just have to show them otherwise, won’t we Horik?” Ms. Rico smiled when Horik nodded his head into Ymir’s chest. 

“Honestly, he’s so sweet. He reminds me of you, Ymir, when I had you. A little intimidating looking, but such a softie on the inside.”

Ymir flushed and sputtered, making Mina and Ms. Rico laugh. After conversing and catching up, it was time for the Volunteer Club to go. Horik seemed pretty intent on going with Ymir, and only let go when Ms. Rico bribed him with cookies. Ymir had laughed and pinky promised Horik that she would come by often and play with him. She, Mina, and Reiner had left together and waited for Marco, Bertl, and Petra to show up. 

“How did you know?” Reiner blurted into the calm silence they had fallen into. Reiner felt  _ terrible _ ; he had been a part of the bullies that hurt Horik. He had messed up and fallen into the lies where Ymir just waltzed in, knowing the truth right away. Ymir always knew what to do. She always knew the truth, and it drove Reiner mad. 

Ymir quirked an eyebrow. “I actually listened to him.”

Silence fell upon them again, and with each passing moment, the guilt grew in Reiner. She was right; he  _ hadn’t _ listened. He ignored poor Horik and listened to the masses. All the signs were there and yet he chose to ignore them.

Horik really did remind Reiner of Ymir. They both looked scary, but...they really weren’t. Reiner understood that now. Ymir had a scary face, but had a heart of gold. Now that Reiner actually gave it some thought, Ymir wasn’t all that bad. She was a little awkward, but she never really hurt anyone nor did she do anything remotely thuggish. She was just scary looking. 

“You must go through that a lot,” Reiner whispered as the three began to walk to meet up with the others. 

Ymir stayed silent, but whispered back.

“You have no idea.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!  
> (hey what's your sine? i think it must be pi/2 because you're the 1)  
> (also Horik's name is pronounce like Horse minus the se, and Rick combined. he is also one of my favs)


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Historia comes back ;)

Reiner, Mina, and Ymir ended up having to find the others. They were at the entrance of the elementary school, all three unwilling to move. They looked pale and frightened, and Ymir couldn’t figure out why until they drew nearer. 

“‘Mir!” A flash of blonde hair was all Ymir saw before she was tackled, sending her to the floor. She was left staring at the sky as her breath left her, and the sight of eyes the color of the sky sent the last of her breath away for different reasons. Ymir felt her face heat up as she realized how close she and Historia were. 

“Hey His’,” Ymir sent a cheeky grin. “Did ya miss me?”

Ymir figured that a nuzzle was good enough to be counted as yes. Ymir wondered how many times she was going to be nuzzled and hugged that day. 

“Um, uh,” Petra began. “It’s good to see you so...energetic Historia, but we kinda need to go back to the classroom.”

“Five more minutes,” Historia responded, words muffled. Mina and Marco let out a laugh, but Marco quickly stopped when he realized he had let one slip. Historia looked up at him, and Marco started sweating. Historia squinted her eyes, and Marco wondered if Bertl was always this sweaty. 

“‘Mir I like him, can I be his friend?” Marco sighed a breath of relief and grinned. The others began to smile as well.

“Sure His’. Knock yourself out.”

The way back was filled with excited conversation and laughter. Occasionally, Historia would glare at Mina when she thought no one was looking. And surprisingly, Mina would shoot Historia glares when _ she  _ thought no one was looking. The two girls tried pulling Ymir to them, often subtly fighting for the freckled teen. Ymir remained oblivious while Marco, Bertl, and Petra shared glances. Ymir just couldn’t get a moment of peace.

Reiner had remained silent the entire time, his eyes trained on Historia. He had known from the rumors that Historia was beautiful, but he didn’t  _ know _ until now. Seeing her in person was entirely different from hearing about her; the rumors did her no justice. She was absolutely stunning. Reiner’s face was red for the rest of the day. 

-

Historia began hanging out with Ymir more and more during school, with both of the teens heading to Petra’s classroom to hang out. Eventually Sasha and Connie joined in, leading the group of friends to expand. Ymir and Historia couldn’t have been happier; all their lives they had wanted friends to see them for who they are, and they did it. They had more friends than they had ever had. (With the exception of Mina, in Historia’s case. It was clear that the two girls clearly did not like each other.)

The Volunteer Club had expanded once more, as Connie and Sasha had signed up. Historia would of as well, but her schedule just didn’t allow for it.  She had music on Mondays, dance on Wednesdays, and some fancy class her father signed her up for on Fridays. Historia had no idea what she did in that class as she often fell asleep, much to her father’s exasperation. But even with her busy schedule, Historia still tried to find the time to visit the club after they were done with activities.

The members of the club warmed up to their new friends quickly. Historia frightened them at times, but they still loved her nonetheless. They held the small blonde back from getting in fights, and on the occasions where they couldn’t, they had covered for her instead. Even Petra helped, often bailing Historia out of detention and on one occasion, juvie. Petra had made Historia promise her to run a little harder when the police came after her next time. 

Unbeknownst to the delinquent duo, Reiner was starting to develop a serious infatuation with the small blonde. All the others could see the other blonde fall hard for Historia, and they were surprised that Ymir and Historia couldn’t. Reiner tried at every opportunity to try and impress Historia, from showing off his strength and knowledge to buying her small gifts. Historia had found him a little overbearing and clingy while Ymir thought Reiner was trying to one up her friendship. The two often competed for Historia’s friendship.

-

“Today’s the day Bertl! Today’s the day I’m going to do it!” Ymir overheard Reiner exclaim while they were helping out at the elementary. Horik was currently hitching a ride on Ymir in the form of a piggyback ride while the teen went about her work. They made an oddly cute pair. 

The two heard Bertl sigh. “You’ve said that everyday for the past two weeks.”

Horik and Ymir looked at each other quizzically. The two remained silent, eavesdropping on the duo’s conversation. 

“No, but today is actually the day Bertl! I’m gonna ask out Historia today for sure!” 

Ymir and Horik felt their mouths drop, and Ymir silently but quickly ran from the area. She was bent over panting when she felt Horik slide down and tug on her shirt.

“Yea kiddo?” Ymir had wanted to find a nickname for the lil guy, but Hor sounded a bit too...improper. He didn’t like the name Rik either, but he seemed to adore being  called “kiddo”. His eyes were always full of stars when she called him that, and when Ymir was around in general. 

“Reiner is gonna ask out Historia?”

“Seems like it.” The two began walking towards Ms. Rico’s classroom to clean the class. Horik grabbed Ymir’s hand and gave it a tug. His eyes silently asked for Ymir to carry him again, and Ymir rolled her eyes, but agreed nonetheless. She bent down to let him hop on, and once he settled in, she began walking. 

“But he can’t do that,” Horik said as he nuzzled into Ymir’s back. The kid really liked Ymir. 

“Why not?” 

“Cause isn’t she your girlfriend?” Ymir almost dropped Horik, but managed to compose herself. She flushed and sputtered, trying to find her words. Horik waited patiently for her to continue. 

“...No kiddo, she’s not.”

“Oh. But you guys like each other don’t you?” Once again, Ymir felt her face flush. 

“Uh, so what did your dad buy you to replace Ranger Red?” At that, Horik excitedly began talking about his new Ranger Red figure and Ymir smiled. Her mind drifted back to what Horik had said, about her and Historia liking each other. It was obvious that the little blonde liked Ymir, everyone knew that. Ymir had known it since the “freckles” incident, and Historia never bothered to hide her feelings from the brunette. Historia had a policy of living for herself and not caring about what other people thought, and often encouraged Ymir to do the same. Ymir smiled at how brave and courageous Historia was, to live a life with no regrets. Even if that included constantly blurting out that she liked Ymir at random. 

But did Ymir like Historia back? She wasn’t sure. Ymir had to admit, Historia was extremely beautiful. Her eyes were an alluring shade of sky blue, and Ymir often found herself thinking about how cute the small blonde was. Mina often told her that all she did was talk about Historia and how much she missed her. But did that mean she liked her? She did miss Historia a lot the times they were apart, and felt jealous when guys hit on her. Not to mention the inexplicable anger and anxiety when Reiner trying to steal away Historia.

_ Wait _ , steal? Ymir thought. _ In order to steal her, she’d have to be mine. But I mean...she _ does  _ like me…  _

Ymir felt herself heat up and was glad to finally reach the classroom. Horik hopped off and helped Ymir clean up. He really was sweet, and Ymir was glad to have him around. Ymir pulled out her phone and started playing one of her favorite playlists, something that she and Horik enjoyed. The two sang and danced as they cleaned, laughing and smiling. After fifteen minutes, Horik spoke into the silence they were in. 

“‘Mir, I think you should make Historia your girlfriend before Reiner does.” Ymir, in her shock, had banged her toe against a desk. She yelled in pain, rolling on the floor. Horik waddled over and sat on Ymir’s leg. 

“Why do you think that kiddo?” Ymir asked, after her groans of pain were done. 

“Because you like her ‘Mir and she likes you. Not Reiner. She told me that she thinks he’s yucky and that you’re really hot.” Ymir flushed. Horik stayed silent, thinking for a moment. “‘Mir, why did she call you hot?” He touched Ymir’s forehead. “You’re only warm, not hot.”

_ Damn you Historia _ . “Uh, when you call someone hot kiddo, that means that you’re calling them really pretty.”

“Oh. So do you think that Historia is ho-”

“Okay kiddo, back to work!” Horik nodded, hopping off Ymir’s leg and setting off to work. The two worked diligently, and finished quickly afterwards. They were singing along to songs from  _ Hamilton  _ when Ms. Rico entered. 

“Woah, good job guys! This room is sparkling!” Horik’s eyes lit up and he waddled over to Ms. Rico. 

“Ms. Rico, you’re hot!” 

Horik smiled in earnest at his teacher. Ms. Rico’s face turned a light pink and Ymir’s mouth was hanging. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to laugh or groan. 

“...Horik, where did you learn that word?”

“‘Mir taught it to me! It means you’re really pretty!”

Ms. Rico glared at Ymir, and Ymir burst out laughing. Tears began to form in her eyes, and she clutched her sides. Ms. Rico sighed, and patted Horik’s head. Horik grinned, waddling back to Ymir. A look of remembrance passed through his face, making him run back to Ms. Rico. She gave Ymir a confused look, and Ymir shrugged in return. 

“Ms. Rico, will you be my girlfriend?” 

Ymir couldn’t dodge the bag thrown at her fast enough. 

-

Ymir had parted ways with Horik and Ms. Rico and was starting to walk back to the rest of the group. She laughed, remembering Horik asking out his teacher, not fully understanding what it meant to be someone’s partner. The others would love to hear that story. Speaking of asking out…

Ymir spotted Reiner and Bertl. Bertl looked like he was prepping Reiner up, giving him words of encouragement. Ymir felt her stomach drop, and jealousy consumed her. Normally, she would let Reiner try his luck and get flipped by Historia. She didn’t understand why, but she really didn’t want Reiner to ask out Historia at all. She knew Historia would say no, but the thought of Reiner asking her out was too much. 

She calmly walked towards the two and waited until they noticed her. Bertl noticed first, and Reiner only noticed when Ymir scared him by whispering into his ear. 

“Yo.” Ymir waved. 

“Ymir! Are you here to see me sweep Historia off her feet and finally beat you?”

“Nope. I’m here to convince you not to.”

A look of exasperation passed Reiner’s face. Bertl shrugged and left the two. 

“What? Why the hell not?”

“Cause she doesn’t like you. Like, at all.”

“She doesn’t?” Reiner looked hurt, and Ymir felt bad. Not as bad as she should have though. “But she laughs at all my jokes and accepts all my presents.”

Ymir patted his shoulder. “Everyone laughs at your jokes dude, you’re funny as hell. But for the presents, she‘d really appreciate it if you stopped. Horik told me that she finds you a bit overwhelming at times.”

Reiner visibly deflated, but soon perked up. “E-Even so, I still have to try! I want to live a life without regrets!”

Reiner began walking towards the group, and Ymir panicked. She didn’t know why the thought of Reiner asking Historia out affected her this much, but it did. She needed to stop him. Ymir ran in front of Reider with her arms spread out. 

“Buddy, let’s not do that. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Reiner laughed. “It’s okay Ymir! Historia has flipped me before, so her flipping me again won’t affect me.” He tried to move forward, but Ymir still blocked him. He raised an eyebrow at her. “Ymir?”

“Just don’t do it man.”

“Look dude, it really isn’t any of your business what I do. I appreciate the concern, but I really want you to lay off right now.”

Reiner shrugged past Ymir, and she felt the anger and panic bubble in her stomach. Jealously ate at her, and she didn’t think about it too much. She just knew that she needed to stop Reiner. She ran forward again and stuck her foot out, tripping him. 

“Ow!” Reiner sat up and rubbed his head. “What the hell man?”

“Look man, just don’t.”

“Just let me go! We already know she’s gonna reject me cause she likes you!”

Ymir felt her face heat, and the questions of her romantic feelings for Historia bubbled up. She pushed them down and focused at the situation at hand. 

“Look, Reiner, just please don’t do it. Trust me man. I really don’t want you to do it.”

Reiner stood up and charged at Ymir. This caught her off guard, and he put her in a headlock. Not enough to choke her, but just enough to keep her  in place. Ymir knew that Reiner was just being playful, but she still struggled violently against him.

“Ymir, bro, just chill out okay? She’s gonna reject me anyways.” Ymir finally thrashed herself free of Reiner’s grip. The anxiety, anger, and jealousy overwhelmed her, consumed her and threatened to leak. Ymir was a mess and she didn’t know why. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and all of her emotions came pouring out.

“DON’T YOU DARE ASK HER OUT!”

Silence ensued. Reiner stared at her in shock, and Ymir opened her eyes. She had _ yelled _ . 

Reiner awkwardly rubbed his arm. “Jesus dude, fine alright, I won’t ask her out. I swear to god, it’s like you’re in love with her.”

The two made their way back to the group and found Historia there, waving at them. To Ymir, her eyes seemed a little bit brighter, her hair a bit shinier, and Historia herself just...beautiful. Ymir felt her heart start to race at the sight of Historia, and when the blonde girl said her name, Ymir swore that her heart wasn’t going at human speed anymore. Her face flushed, and all she could think about was a small blonde with a killer punch. 

She had fallen in love with Historia. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!  
> (has anyone told you that your eyes are beautiful?)


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Announcement:  
> 1.) Sorry for the late update guys, I was busy and I didn't have access to a proper device to upload this chapter.  
> 2.) School starts tomorrow so updates might be more sporadic than usual.  
> 3.) BINAD and LMW will skip updates next week. I will update both fics on the week of the 20th.

“Connie, do I like Historia?” Ymir asked her friend while the two were making their way to the local convenience store. Club was cancelled for the day due to Petra having a cold and no one being able to supervise them. The teens didn’t mind; it was a rest that they welcomed.

Connie, without a moment’s of hesitation, replied, “Yes you do ‘Mir.”

“But how do I know if I like…like like her?”

Connie paused in his tracks, staring at his friend. Ymir stopped along with him and gave him a confused look.

“Bro, are you actually serious? Like, are you dead serious and you’re not trying to mess with me right now?”

“...Yes?”

Connie gave an exaggerated sigh and slumped his body forward. “You’re smart, hella smart, but so dumb.” Connie chuckled, going over to pat Ymir’s shoulder. “Look dude, everyone can see that you like her but you. And Historia cause she’s too busy staring at your ass.”

“Wh-What?!” Ymir flushed deeply at the notion of Historia checking her out. The two began walking again.

“Joke. Anyways, why are you asking me this? Isn’t this something that you have to discover yourself? Or do we have to go on some epic journey that will forever change our young teenage lives?”

“Pass on that journey. Horik wants me to come to his birthday party next week and I don’t wanna miss that.”

“Adopt that kid already ‘Mir. Anyways, answer la pregunta!” Ymir gave Connie a confused look, tilting her head. Connie sighed. “It’s spanish for the question. Just talk you nerd.”

“It’s weird. Whenever I’m around her she makes my heart beat faster than normal, and whenever she touches me I feel electricity running through my veins. And I don’t know what to do about that. Is that liking someone? Am I supposed to feel like I’m dying when I’m liking someone?”

“Yes, yes, and yes.” Connie shot finger guns at Ymir. “I don’t know how you didn’t realize that you like her.” The two rounded a corner, the convenience store in view.

“...I kind of realized that I liked her when I yelled at Reiner to not ask her out.” Connie paused once again and looked at Ymir. Ymir felt her face flush slightly due to embarrassment. Suddenly, Connie ran up to her and jumped, barely giving the freckled teen enough time to catch him. Connie laughed, putting his hands on Ymir’s shoulders and shaking her as she held him.

“Buddy, oh my god! You actually yelled at him? I get getting jealous and wanting to defend your girl, but oh my god!”

Ymir felt her face heat further and dropped Connie. He landed on the floor with a thud, still laughing. Ymir continued walking without him, not caring if he followed or not. As she reached the parking lot of the convenience store, she heard him run up.

“Okay dude, you definitely like like her. Case closed.”

“You’re an ass y’know. But…” Ymir and Connie reached the front of the store. Ymir went to the door and held the door for Connie. “I think I’m in love with Historia.”

A gasp and thud shocked Ymir, making her turn to the open door. Mina stared at Ymir, her eyes wide and mouth slightly open. On the floor was a plastic bag full of soft drinks. Connie scooped the drinks up but made no move to talk or interfere. This was going to happen sooner or later.

“M-Mina?” Mina just stared at Ymir. The raven haired girl had a million thoughts going through her head all at once, but one stood out against the rest:  
Ymir is in love with Historia?

Mina took off in a dash, leaving Ymir and Connie behind. She had forgotten the soft drinks she had bought. Connie and Ymir stared at her receding figure. Ymir wanted to go after her friend, but what would she do? The freckled teen didn’t even know why her friend was upset in the first place. If she caught up, what would she say?

Ymir stared at Mina until it was too late to catch up. She gave Connie a quizzed look, and Connie shrugged. The two finally entered the store, not knowing what Mina had in store for them.  
-

Mina panted, taking large breaths as she doubled over. Her lungs were burning for air while her legs throbbed with pain. Her body was in pain, but she didn’t notice. Her thoughts were racing through her head, distracting her from physical troubles.

Ymir is in love with Historia. The thought raced through her head over and over. She couldn’t think straight, and all she knew at that moment was that her best friend was in love with the girl who made her life worse. Her chest ached with sorrow.

Mina tried to like the girl, but it was difficult. How could she like someone who was so violent and impulsive? Historia did whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. It was irritating to Mina to say the least. The blonde had no self control, and Ymir fell for someone like her? Historia was a bad influence on Ymir. Why else would Principal Smith try and separate the two?

The raven haired girl took a deep breath and collected herself. She continued walking back to school where she was supposed to meet up with Reiner and Marco. She thought as she walked, her mind never slowing.

She had hidden her feelings from Ymir (and everyone really) in order to complete her goal: to make Ymir happy. She cared for Ymir and she wanted to try and best to help her.

She knew that her friend was upset at being excluded from the school, and she desperately wanted to prove to everyone that Ymir was the sweetheart that she knew her to be. Mina was determined to help her friend no matter what.

Even if it meant separating Ymir from Historia for good.  
-

Soon enough, club started up again. The weekend had passed and Monday came. Petra had recovered from her cold, leading the teens to volunteer at the elementary school once again. Ymir wished that the weekend was longer and was seriously considering calling in sick to skip club.

Her encounter with Mina had been in her mind all weekend. She didn’t know what to make of it; was being in love with Historia such a crime for Mina to react like that? Why did Mina react like that? Ymir simultaneously wanted to know the answers and not know. What she did know was that she wasn’t looking forward to meeting up with Mina.

Ymir was tidying up the elementary school’s garden with Horik when they overheard two voices talking. Ymir and Horik shared a look, debating whether or not they should eavesdrop. The voices grew in volume and the two recognized them as Mina and Historia. The two’s animosity for each other was becoming well known in the club, and Ymir started to worry. With a nod, Ymir bent down for Horik. The boy hopped on, and Ymir carefully treaded to get closer to the conversation without being seen. Luckily, thick vegetation covered the two. As she drew nearer, Ymir guessed that the two were close to the gardening shed to avoid being seen by others.

“I’m done being nice to you. You don’t deserve it, honestly. The way you treat people is disgusting.” Ymir and Horik strained their ears to listen. Ymir guessed it was Mina from her lack of an accent.

“That’s fine with me. I don’ wanna be yer friend. Yer just fake.” Horik covered his mouth in order to muffle his gasp.

Silence ensued for a few moments before Mina resumed talking. “I hate you.”

More silence.

“You just do whatever you want. ‘Live a life with no regrets’? ‘A life with your head held high’? That’s just an excuse for you to be impulsive.” A pause. “Ymir doesn’t need that. Ymir doesn’t need you.”

“What the hell do ya even fucking know about ‘Mir?! You don’t get ta decide that! Only she does!”

“At least I’m fucking there for her!”

“If ya were there for her, ya wouldn’t be tryin’ ta separate us!”

“It’s because I’m there for her that I’m doing this! So listen here Historia, you better stay the hell away from Ymi-”

Horik sneezes.

Ymir’s eyes widened. The two girls stop talking, and Horik looks like he’s about to cry.

“...What was that?”

“Guess we’ll find out.” Ymir’s too scared to move, and instead listens to the scuffles. Her heart almost pops out of chest when a rock flies past her a few feet away. “Who the hell is there?!”

The scuffling of feet sound closer and closer. Ymir decided that now would probably be the best time to book it. Dodging the treacherous vines and trying to run as quietly as possible, Ymir made her way away from the garden. She ran all the way to the playground back on the school campus.

“Do Mina and Historia not like each other?” Horik asked while Ymir tried getting her breath back. While she’s panting, she can’t help but get a sense of deja vu. Once she got her breathing back to a normal rate, she responded.

“I guess not kiddo.”

Horik is about to ask another question when Connie, Marco, Bertl, and Reiner appear. The four make their way to the freckled teen and give her sympathetic looks.

“If you’re wondering, Sasha is back with them to try and diffuse the situation,” Connie spoke as he pulled up to his best friend.

“I didn’t know you had it so tough,” Reiner awkwardly rubbed his arm. Bertl and Marco hum in agreement.

“I don’t know what to do. What do I do?” Ymir asked, but the four awkwardly shuffle about. Finally, Marco decided to take the initiative and spoke.

“Look Ymir, I know that you care for them a lot. They’re your best friends and all. But it’s clear to see that those two hate each other.” Horik gasps. “Yea lil dude, they hate each other. But it’s not your fault Ymir. I want you, no, I need you to realize that. So don’t feel like it’s your fault. You aren’t responsible for this. This is something that they need to figure out, not you. Okay?”

Marco put his hand on Ymir’s shoulder, giving her a smile.

“But what if they make me choose between them?”

“They won’t be that childish. I mean, we’re young adults here.”

“Uh, that’s only you Marco. You’re pretty old,” Connie snickered.

“Up yours Springer. But anyways Ymir, don’t do anything about this right now. If you want my advice, this isn’t your fight. Don’t worry about it alright?”

And Ymir tried. She tried not to worry as the five teens dropped Horik off and met up with the other girls. She tried not to worry as she saw Historia and Mina looking everywhere but the other. She tried and she tried, but she just couldn’t help but worry.

Those were her best friends, and they hated each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!  
> (your hands look heavy, can I hold them for you ;)? )


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hah i bet yall thought i abandoned this fic  
> think again  
> but seriously, sorry for how long it took me to update this! I didn't have the inspiration, or the time, to continue! but don't worry, we're back on track :D  
> i decided to end LMW where it was because i couldn't bring myself to continue. i think it ended nicely (and sloppily). but BINAD should be ending in about 5 chapters or less

Ymir tried hard to take Marco’s words into consideration; he was right, it wasn’t her fight. But she couldn’t help but feel like it was her fault as she watched the oncoming storm.

“Good morning Ymir!” Mina smiled brightly at her friend, but Ymir sent a strained one back. She felt the arms wrapped around her arm grow tighter, making Ymir wince slightly. Historia glared hotly at Mina, and Mina glared back. The tension in the room was growing with each passing minute, and Ymir couldn’t help but think that maybe, just maybe, this was her fault.

“So ‘Mir,” Historia spoke into the silence that had engulfed them, “you down to watch a movie with me this Monday? My pops won’t be home, and it’ll be just us two.” Historia added extra emphasis on the last bit, making Ymir flush and Mina growl.

“Yea His’ I’d lo-”

“Actually, she can’t. We have volunteer club on Monday,” Mina interrupted Ymir. “Maybe someone would have known that if she had actually paid attention to what Ymir said instead of babbling like an idiot.”

Ymir groaned as Historia shot up, knocking her chair to the floor.

“Ya wanna repeat that bitch?” The small blonde slammed her hands down on Mina’s desk, locking eyes with her and glaring passionately.

Mina didn’t falter, instead glaring back. Ymir had to admit, it was impressive. Usually when Historia gave people her famous death glare, they backed away immediately. Mina stood her ground.

“So Ymir…”

“‘Mir…”

“What’s it gonna be?” The two stared at the freckled brunette, and Ymir could have sworn that her heart stopped beating there. To choose between the two of them would be death, and to no to choose between the them would be worse than death. There was no escape.

The seconds seemed to stretch on for eternity and sweat slowly started to collect on Ymir’s brow. It was amazing how scary those two could be, considering they looked like precious angels.

“Well uh,” Ymir began. She was stalling for time, and luckily at that moment, a bag had been hurled across the room and hit her in the head.

“Whoops!” Reiner bellowed. “Oh no, Ymir! My poor precious baby Ymir! It looks like I accidentally threw my bag at you. Maybe we should head to the nurse to get it checked out.” Before either girl could protest, Reiner lifted Ymir on his shoulders and made a mad dash to the door.

“Jesus Christ on a motorbike, it was like a black hole had opened up and you were caught in the middle of it,” Reiner mumbled. Ymir tried to speak, but her words came a jumbled mess. Reiner sighed. “Maybe I hit you a little too hard.”

The two garnered some strange looks as they went down the hall, but they paid them no mind. They were too busy collecting their thoughts, trying to figure out how to diffuse the situation between Mina and Historia.

Or at least Reiner was. Ymir was a little too out of it to understand what was going on.  
-

“I don’t understand why Ymir would hang out with anyone like you,” Mina spat out with disgust. The two were forced to watch as Reiner carried Ymir away, left with only each other as company. The class had known better than to try and stick around for the show, so they watched through the class windows.

“Maybe it’s cuz she actually likes me,” Historia shot back. The two had only a table to separate them, but it was clear to see that it would soon fall victim to the fight that was about to occur.

Mina was left speechless for a moment. She thought back to Ymir admitting that she liked- no, loved Historia. She felt anger and disgust rise in her throat, pure fury going through her veins.

“Her liking you? Please, you don’t even know the first thing about her!”

“Oh yea?” Historia leaned forward, a smirk on her face. “Try me.”

“Her favorite color?”

“Easy, she loves green.”

“Favorite animal?”

“She loves ta rhino.”

“Hobbies? Family? Music taste?”

“Hanging out with her friends and reading and studying, an older sister named Ilse, and she likes everything except country.” Historia leaned back in her chair, feeling victorious. She knew Ymir well, almost as well as the back of her hand.

Mina let out a frustrated sigh. “Then do you know that you’re the damn reason why people are scared of Ymir?”

Historia narrowed her eyes. “What?”

“You.” Mina softly growled. “It’s you. You’re the reason why no one wants to talk to Ymir. It’s all because of you! You’re a thug, a violent good for nothing! And for some reason, Ymir decided to hang out with you! And because of that, people think that Ymir is a delinquent just like you when in reality, she’s the sweetest person I have ever had the pleasure of meeting!” Mina huffed, her face slightly red from going to a soft growl to almost a full yell.

Historia’s face remained impassive.

“Ymir isn’t a delinquent like you!” Mina continued. “She’s the most caring and sweetest girl that you or I or anyone in this damn school will meet! But no one is willing to get to know her like that because they’re terrified of her! And it’s all. Because. Of. You.” Mina had stood up and walked towards the small blonde, and with every word she leaned a bit closer until the two were caught inches away from each other, eyes locked in an intense battle.

“Don’t talk about her like that. Ya don’t know shit.” Historia cooly responded.

“No, it’s really you who doesn’t know shit!” Mina threw her hands up in frustration and turned to face the crowd gathered at the windows. “Have any of you actually seen Ymir do a single bad thing? Any thing?”

The crowd remained silent, shocked at what was slowly dawning to them. Historia watched, seemingly disinterested, but her stomach began to twist and turn.

“Exactly! Not a single one of you have seen Ymir actually do anything, instead you just assume that she does because she looks a bit scary and cause she hangs out with this thug!” Mina shouted, pointing to Historia. “If any one of you had actually spent the time trying to know the person instead of basing useless stereotypes on her, then you would have seen that she’s the most wonderful person!” Mina turned to face Historia. “And you say that you know her, but you didn’t even know that she wasn’t a delinquent after all this time.”

The crowd murmured. It was true; Ymir hadn’t actually done anything. It was always her tailing after Historia, sometimes even apologizing to the students that met her merciless fist. Ymir was in the Volunteer Club, and they absolutely adored her. If she was really as bad as they thought she was, why hadn’t she gotten kicked out of the club? The school?

Meanwhile, there was Historia. She had been suspended a few times for excessive violence. Historia, who was known to beat anyone in her way if she was having a bad day. Historia the delinquent.

Historia slowly rose and made her way to Mina. The raven haired girl braced herself, steeling her nerves. She stood her ground and closed her eyes, hoping that Historia would have the decency to hit her once and be done with it. She prepared herself for a punch that never came.

When Mina opened her eyes, Historia was nowhere to be seen.  
-

“You feeling better champ?” Reiner handed Ymir an ice pack. Ymir gingerly took it and placed it carefully on her head, wincing a bit as the cold made contact with a bump that was forming.

“Yea. Thanks for getting me out of that pickle Reiner. You could have done something else though. Anything would have been better than you hurling your bag at me with all your strength.”

Reiner grinned sheepishly. “I panicked.”

Before the two could utter another word, the door slammed open, revealing a solemn looking blonde girl. Historia glared at Reiner, and he took that as his cue to leave. He gently closed the door behind him, leaving the delinquent duo alone.

“H-His’?” Ymir felt awkward, not yet having come up with the answer to Historia’s initial question.

The small blonde said nothing, instead taking a seat next to Ymir. She fiddled with her hands, and after a brief moment, looked up at Ymir. Gold eyes met blue, and the freckled brunette could feel herself heat up. Historia was staring intensely at her friend.

“Ymir,” Historia softly began. “What are ya, really?”

Ymir shot her friend a confused look before attempting a small smile. “Well I’m your friend for one.”

Historia shook her head. “No, what are you?”

“What do you mean His’?”  
“Are you a brawler? Like me? Or are you a biker like Sash’? Do you vandalize? Smoke? Drink? What are you Ymir?” Historia looked at Ymir, her eyes filled with unshed tears. Ymir swallowed.

“His’... I’m none of those things. I’m just me. Y’know, me who’s really smart?”

Historia sniffled and mumbled something.

“What was that?”

“Why didn’t ya tell me?!” Historia swung her fist at Ymir, hitting her cleanly on her cheek. Ymir was thrown back, falling off the bed and landing near the wall. She had forgotten how strong Historia was.

Before she could respond, Historia stood before her, openly sobbing.

“Why didn’t ya tell me ‘Mir?” She asked brokenly, sobs escaping from her. Ymir felt her heart shatter.

“His’ I did tell you-”

“Liar! Yer a liar ‘Mir!” Historia yelled. “This whole time...This whole time I thought ya were like me and Sash’! I thought ya was this cool brawler, someone who didn’t take anyone’s shit! Ya built this image of yerself for me, someone I looked up ta and admired! I thought I had finally met someone who got me! Who understood!”

Historia didn’t understand why she was crying so brokenly, or why it felt like a knife was piercing her heart. The Ymir she had known was a lie; there wasn’t anyone like that that existed. She had let herself be fooled into thinking what she wanted, and no one had corrected her. She didn’t understand why her heart was breaking.

“His’, please-” Ymir reached out for Historia, her heart threatening to split into two. Historia shook her head, slapping Ymir’s hand away.

“Don’t ever talk ta me again!” Historia cried, running out of the room and quite possibly Ymir’s life as well.

Ymir watched her go, feeling numb and broken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!  
> (You're absolutely stunning!)


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hoo boy i'm just in the mood for drama  
> we've officially entered the final stretch guys :')  
> you can expect this series to end in about a month or so. I've written out chapters 14 and 15 and this should end on either chapter 16 or 17. i'll update regularly weekly (for once)  
> (*edit: I'm gonna upload the remaining chapters this week because it's spring break and i'm gonna forget when school starts up again)

“...so that’s what basically happened,” Historia said with a sigh. She and Sasha were back in their hidden place in the music department, and Historia had just finished recounting her outburst at Ymir. They were skipping class, but that didn’t really matter to them. 

Sasha hummed in acknowledgment. 

“So basically what I’m hearing is that ya severely overreacted,” Sasha mused. She quickly stepped to her left, narrowly dodging Historia’s fist. The blonde huffed in annoyance, her face a bright scarlet. 

“Shut ta fuck up!” She threw another fist, and again Sasha narrowly dodged. When Historia tried again, the brunette quickly grabbed the blonde’s wrist, twisted around, and pinned Historia’s arm to her back. Historia gave a hiss of pain. 

“His’, calm down,” the brunette cooly said. Historia struggled for a moment or two, but gradually calmed. Deeming the situation defused, Sasha let go of Historia. The blonde rubbed at her wrist, glaring at her friend.    
“She lied to me Sash’. Y’know I hate liars.”

“His’, she didn’t tell you a single lie. That was a misunderstandin’ from your part.”

“But she led me on ta believe she was one!”

“Again, that was all ya.” Sasha sighed. “I don’t get how ya didn’t see that sooner. I mean, it’s Ymir. She was the one that pulled ya off from brawls, the one to always say that we shouldn’t be fighting, and all that jazz. She’s the definition of soft. I don’t get how ya didn’t know.”

Sasha turned to her friend, finding the small blonde glaring at the floor. 

“Look, His’, just go apologize. It  _ was  _ kinda your fault. But I’m sure ‘Mir wouldn’t mind, ya just gotta take that first step. So take it.” Sasha looked at her friend expectantly. Historia stared at the floor, shuffling her feet.    
“...do ya really think that she’ll accept my apology?”

“I know she will. It was a misunderstanding after all.”

-

“That idiot!” Mina yelled in frustration. Ever since Ymir had returned to class, she had been dazed. The poor brunette hadn’t fully processed that Historia had stormed off in a rage, her mind barely forming coherent thoughts. If she describe it, it was like Historia had managed to get a one hit KO. If this was a video game, Ymir’s character would have been struck with three “Fatality” moves in a row. 

“Yelling at you like you did something wrong? It’s so obvious that you’re not a bad person! I mean,” Mina gesculated wildly at Ymir, “just look at you!”

“It’s the face,” Ymir quietly murmured. “It always has been. Always will be.”

Mina sighed for what felt like the hundreth time in a row. Ymir was really beaten up over Historia’s explosion, and no matter what Mina said, nothing worked. She only wished that she could be there for her friend.

She glanced at Ymir. Her normally brown and expressive eyes were dull and blank. The smirk that usually graced her face was replaced with a tight line deep in thought. Her entire body just screamed defeat. 

_ Maybe it’s wrong of me _ , Mina thought to herself, _ but I wish I had the opportunity to affect Ymir like that _ . 

Mina was startled out of her thoughts when she felt two hesitant arms wrap around her in a tight embrace. Luckily she was faced away from Ymir, otherwise the tall brunette would have seen her face flush. 

“Thank you for being here for me Mina,” Ymir half whispered. “I’m always troubling you with my selfish shit, but you’ve always stuck around for me. Thank you for being my friend.” Ymir bitterly laughed. “Maybe if I told what little friends I had that I appreciated them more, they wouldn’t leave me.”

Mina whipped around to face Ymir, the hug ending in the process. Mina forced her friend to sit on a chair and grabbed her face in a tight, and painful, grip. 

“Listen here you doof. It was in no way your fault for how Historia reacted. At. All. And I need you to use that big smart brain of yours to realize that. It was a misunderstanding, all on HER part, and it is in no way your fault. She only saw in you what she wanted to see, and not for who you really are. And that’s-” 

Mina stopped mid sentence. She realized that if she went any further, she would most definitely end up revealing her feelings for Ymir. But was she ready for that? The two had become close, almost inseparable even, but was Mina willing to risk all of that for this single moment? The raven haired girl looked long and hard at her freckled friend, who had cocked her head in confusion. 

Maybe it was the terrible cafeteria food that Mina had eaten (after all, the school was notorious for giving out questionable burritos and “pancakes”), but she suddenly felt a rush of confidence overwhelm her.

“-unfortunate because she missed out on knowing the most gorgeous person ever. In personality and appearance.”

Ymir’s eyes widened as Mina’s words tumbled from her lips. Mina’s grip on Ymir’s face had grown softer, almost lovingly caressing Ymir’s face instead of death gripping it. Her face was red, and Ymir found that she couldn’t tear her eyes away. 

A gasp had interrupted them. 

They turned and saw Historia at the doorway. 

“His’-” Ymir called out for her friend, but she had dashed off once again.

-

“His’-” 

“Don’t cha fucking ‘His’’ me!” Historia yelled. Sasha had followed Historia to make sure that she properly apologize to Ymir. She loved her friend, she truly did, but even she had to admit that sometimes the little blonde wasn’t so...eloquent with her words as she needed to be. 

“She doesn’t need my apology, since she has  _ Mina _ .” Historia gritted out her name as if she had drank something foul and bitter but was forced to swallow. 

Sasha followed Historia as she made her way out the school campus. The day wasn’t over yet, but that didn’t matter. She was angry, and if she didn’t find some way to vent, the school wouldn’t even survive to the end of the day. 

Most of Ymir’s friends had figured that Mina had liked Ymir by that time. Except for Ymir, Connie, and Historia, who were a bit dense and missed all the obvious signs. But Mina’s confession was unexpected. It had even caught Sasha off guard and Sasha was the love master herself. After all, she was the first one to notice that Ymir had feelings for Historia in the first place. 

“I’m just so, so, so mad!” Historia yelled for the umpteenth time. “She was mine! And then Mina comes along and just whatever ta fuck she wanted, and then-” Historia was cut off mid sentence as she bumped into someone hard. 

“Watch where ta fuck yer going!” The little blonde glared at the passerby. Her mouth curled in disgust when she recognized who he was. 

“Well, well, if it ain’t little miss dyke here! Where’s the other lezbo?” He flashed a smile, showing off his yellow teeth. Historia had hoped that he would have known better than to engage her, especially considering in their last encounter she had beaten him to a bloody pulp. He exaggerated in looking for Ymir, placing his hand above his brow. His eyes landed on Sasha and he whistled. “Did ya replace her for that cutie over there?”

Instead of responding, Historia threw a punch at him. Her fist connected with his jaw, and he went reeling back. He recovered quickly, wiping his mouth and spitting on the sidewalk. 

“You dirty little bitch.”

He charged at Historia, but before the blonde could finish him off, Sasha had intercepted. She moved incredibly fast, punching him in his stomach and taking his breath away. 

He staggered back, clutching his gut and wheezing for air. 

“You whores. You’re gonna regret this.” He pulled out a phone from the back pocket of his pants and quickly tapped away from his keyboard. 

“Oh yea?” Historia taunted. “And whaddaya gonna do? Bring yer crappy shithead friends?”

“Shithead friends huh?” Someone had come from behind the two girls, causing them to back up. A guy taller than the both of them had shown up, wearing sunglasses with slicked hair. He wore ratty jeans and a black hoodie while smoking a cigarette, and he screamed trouble. Historia had no doubt that she could take him down. After all, it was her and Sasha. But she started to worry when another came. 

And another. 

And another. 

And another. 

Eventually Historia and Sasha were surrounded by six guys, not including the original greaseball. Historia glared at him, and all she got in return was a yellow smile. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!  
> (your smile brightens my day! :D)


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think my writing style changed after I came back from that hiatus I was on, so it's always weird for me to reread my fics because the style doesn't flow   
> Or maybe that's just me ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> Ahh, I hope you guys are still enjoying this fic (and what other fics I may write)!

If Ymir wasn’t dazed before, she certainly was now. In fact, it had gotten so bad to the point where Hanji asked if she was relieving stress in some illegal ways. Ymir had said no, of course not, but Hanji had pressed on. When it was clear that Ymir wasn’t high or doped up on anything, Hanji relaxed and even looked a little disappointed. Ymir didn’t bother to ask why. 

She had been more or less avoiding Mina since her friend had semiconfessed to her earlier that morning. It was kind of shitty, she knew, but she didn’t have the heart to face that problem right now. She was still thinking of Historia, and how the day seemed to be one trainwreck after another. The only good thing that came out of the day was that Reiner had bought her food. Granted, it was one of the mysterious looking burritos that the cafeteria sold, but it was food. Even if it distinctly smelled like chalk. 

It was during lunch that she had gotten a text from Sasha. 

“Connie, you read this. I can’t bear to look at Sasha yelling at me for making Historia upset twice in a row,” Ymir half moaned as she handed Connie the phone. 

Connie snickered and accepted it. He quickly unlocked it and scanned through the message, his face growing grim while reading it. Ymir looked at him curiously. He said nothing as he showed Ymir her phone. 

Sasha had sent Ymir her location and had sent only one word. 

“Help.”

-

“Reiner!” Ymir slammed into Petra’s classroom. The members of the Volunteer Club looked at her in surprise. 

“Jesus Christ Ymir, you gave me a freakin’ heart attack!” Reiner responded dramatically while clutching his shirt. “What’s up?”

“Get your ass in gear, we need to go!” Ymir hurried to her bulky friend, trying to drag him out of his chair. “Now!”

“Woah, woah, woah, what’s up?” Reiner refused to let Ymir pull him, but his heart softened when he saw the desperation on her face. He glanced at Mina, Marco, Bertolt, and Petra, who gave him confused and concerned glances. 

Ymir fumbled out her phone and showed him Sasha’s texts. “It’s Sasha and Historia, they-they-I don’t-” 

“Buddy,” Reiner set his hands firmly on her shoulders and looked at her, “take a deep breath and calm down.”

Ymir did as she was told, losing her frenzy but not her urgency. “Sasha and Historia are in trouble. Sasha’s always been the careful one. She knows her limits and what she and Historia are capable of. She wouldn’t send me those messages unless something was wrong. We need to go help them.” 

“It’s still the middle of the school day!” Mina burst out. The others had looked at her in surprise. “You can’t just go running out just because they’re in trouble. And it was probably trouble they got themselves into! Right Petra?”

Petra looked uncomfortable at being thrown in the spotlight. “I mean, it’s wrong to just leave them alone to get hurt Mina. But as a teacher, I’m not really supposed to encourage that. But,” she turned to look at Ymir and Reiner, “if you guys do happen to leave, then I can cover for you.”

“Are you actually serious right now?” Mina seemed exasperated at the lack of support she was getting. 

“Friends help friends,” Marco said as he got up to join Ymir and Reiner. “It’s as simple as that.”

“But they’re delinquents! They’re trouble makers! They cause trouble for fun!” Mina couldn’t help but lose her cool. Couldn’t they see they were helping out people who would inevitably get themselves into trouble  _ again _ ? She caught Bertolt standing up in the corner of her eye. “Oh not you too Bertl!”

Bertl sent an apologetic smile. 

“Is anyone gonna listen to reason and logic here?” Mina sounded almost pleading as they all shifted uncomfortably. Ymir was itching to go; she couldn’t wait any longer. 

She began to leave when Mina stood and hastily grabbed her shirt. 

“Wait, Ymir.” Mina began. “Are you really going to go right now?”   


Ymir didn’t respond but she nodded. 

Mina sighed. “Okay, fine. Let’s ignore the fact that it’s the middle of the school day right now. Let’s say that Petra does cover for you even though she’s not supposed to. What are you going to do when you get there? Fight?” Ymir remained silent. “Ymir, you and I, hell everyone that actually  _ knows  _ you, knows that you’re not a fighter! You’re gonna get yourself seriously hurt trying to protect someone that got herself caught up in this mess in the first place! And then what? You save her and then she gets herself caught in this mess again?”

Mina looked to Ymir to see if anything had gotten her to react, but nothing did. 

“Ymir,” Mina began again, but much quieter, “are you really going to choose her over me? Think about the progress we’ve made in getting everybody to realize that you’re actually the sweetheart I know you to be. And we had something Ymir, something that means a lot. Are you really going to throw that all away?” Mina released a shaky breath and continued. “You could have so much more than what you have right now.”

Ymir was still silent. 

It was true, everything Mina said was true. They had made great progress in clearing up Ymir’s image. No one actively avoided her, hell, people were even starting to greet her. Ymir had only met Horik through Mina’s efforts. Ymir had met Reiner, Marco, Bertl, and Petra through Mina. And she couldn’t deny, but Mina did make Ymir’s heart race a little. Mina made her heart beat hard sometimes. 

But Ymir’s heart beat even harder at the thought of Historia. The little blonde who had made her life so hectic, but so fun. The girl who made blatant remarks about how much she liked Ymir thinking that she was being smooth and secretive. The girl who could kick ass like the devil but give Ymir the smile of an angel. The girl who reached out for Ymir without even knowing her, and sticking with her through it all. 

Ymir’s heart beat way too hard at the thought of Historia getting hurt. It always skipped a beat every time she thought of her. And for once, Ymir didn’t ignore it. 

“Sorry,” she whispered as she dashed out the door for the closest exit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> (I'm not a photographer, but I could picture us together :D!)


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> psh  
> i totally stuck to my word and updated in time hAh  
> (no i'm actually seriously sorry guys school and life caught up to me)  
> also the tense in this chapter changes from the previous so again, sorry  
> next chapter is epilogue

Sasha felt terrible. She had tried her best, honest to god she did, but there was just too many for her and Historia. She wanted to fight to the very end, but Historia had yelled at her to run and get help. Sasha had ran as far as her legs could carry her, adrenaline pumping through her. Blood was starting to cover her field of vision, so she hastily swiped at her face. 

She only hoped that they would get there in time. 

-

“What’s the plan?” Connie asked as he ran alongside Ymir. It was amazing that their group hadn’t gotten caught; they were fairly large and they very painfully stood out. 

“Find them, kick ass, save them.” Ymir muttered as she glanced at her phone. “Take a right here.” The group followed Ymir’s instructions. 

“Jesus Christ, how far did they even go? It feels like we’ve been running forever,” Reiner grumbled. 

“After this next left, we should be-”

She halted abruptly. The others ran past her, but jogged back to join her. 

“Sasha?” Connie half whispered. He surged forward to his friend and inspected her. 

She was badly beaten. Her eyes were closed, but it was obvious that one of them would lead to a black eye from how bruised it was. Blood stained her face, and there were little cuts and nicks scattered throughout her body. Dark bruises were already starting to form. 

At the sound of Connie’s voice, she weakly opened her eyes. 

“You made it,” she weakly smiled. “Hurry. There’s a lot of them waiting and His’ is by herself.” She closed her eyes again to preserve her energy. 

“You guys should go on,” Marco said as he knelt down to Sasha. He ripped a part of his shirt and began dabbing at her wounds. “I’ll make sure she’s safe.” 

The others nodded and ran off, but Connie stayed behind. He stared at Sasha a bit longer, feeling himself grow hotter with rage with every passing moment. Marco turned to look at him, and Marco nodded. 

“Give them hell kid.” 

WIthout another word, Connie ran off too. 

-

Historia was cornered, but she didn’t mind. Her main priority was that Sasha had made it out safe and managed to text someone to help her. Frankly, Historia didn’t give a rat’s ass about what happened to her. But she would never forgive herself if something had happened to her best friend. 

“Looks like you’re starting to have some trouble huh?” Greasehead One smirked. It wasn’t the smirk that Historia loved, the one that Ymir wore so often. Historia smiled a bit when she realized that she really did think about Ymir all the time. 

“Eat shit,” with the thought of Ymir in her head, Historia charged forward once more. 

-

“It’s this left!” Ymir yelled out to her friends. “This is where they should be!” The others nodded as they ran harder to save their friend. 

The group turned the corner and Ymir motioned for them to be quiet. Ymir couldn’t help but think how suitable it was that Historia and Sasha had gotten themselves in a fight in an alley. Those two just really loved sticking by their stereotypes. 

They silently crept up to the opening of the alley, sticking to the wall. They were outnumbered, four (not counting Historia) against however many, and they needed to be careful about how they went about it. Ymir was going to explain her plan when they overheard talking. 

“Ain’t so tough are ya?” Ymir flinched when she heard that voice. She recognized it as that one douche who had hit on Historia. 

“Fuck off,” even with all the venom in her voice, Ymir felt her heart soften at the sound of Historia’s voice. 

Slap. 

It took the combined strengths of Reiner, Bertl, and Connie to hold Ymir back. 

“It’s such a shame we had to beat such a pretty face like this,” another person spoke, and Ymir was willing to bet her life savings that he was as greasy as the first. “She’s a real cutie. Shame she’s gay.”

“Well, she doesn’t have to be, now does she?” They heard snickers from their group, and they all grew in rage. 

“Don’t fucking touch me!” 

Ymir was seeing red. She shrugged off her friends and ran to the entrance of the alleyway and screamed.

-

Historia and the sleazeballs turned her head at the scream. There, she saw Ymir huffing and looking absolutely infuriated. There was no words to describe how Ymir looked at the moment. It was as if the devil herself had come onto the mortal plane for the Apocalypse, waiting to incinerate all who dared to cross her. 

It was probably a little wrong for Historia to be slightly aroused at the moment. 

“Who the fuck-”

“Listen up you stupid fuckwads!! You asshats decided to take two very important people from me, and hurt them. And just because you did that, you can bet your dumb asses that I’m gonna pay you back twenty times harder for it!” 

Before anyone could react, Ymir had dashed forward and grabbed the lid off a nearby trashcan, hurling it at the group. They couldn’t react quick enough; the lid smashed directly into the face of one of the cronies and he went tumbling to the ground. Reiner, Bertl, and Connie decided that now was probably a good time to go help their freckled nerd out. And with their own respective battle cries, they charged in. 

-

_ Holy fucking shit, I actually did that _ , Ymir thought to herself as she narrowly dodged a punch from one of the greaseballs. The heat of the moment had gotten to Ymir, and she was starting to regret just jumping in like that. Not to mention she kind of gave a really embarrassing speech, but that was besides the point. The point was that she had most likely saved Historia from god knows what. 

She just wishes that she actually knew how to fight. 

At this point, she’s just running around hoping not to get hit while trying to hurt the other guy. But that’s really hard to do when she’s running for her dear life. She catches glimpses of her friends as she runs past them. 

Reiner, having been in martial arts for who knows how many years, is kicking serious ass. He was bulky to begin with, and with his added knowledge of where to hit just makes him unstoppable. Connie is holding up fairly well. He’s a jock and he’s strong despite his short stature, and he’s pretty fast in throwing his punches. Bertl is naturally strong thanks to his height and friendship with Reiner, and although he’s a little slow, his hits pack a punch. 

Ymir decides that it’s now or never. She turns back around and swings. She manages to hit Greaseball One, but he shrugs it off like it’s nothing. Her punches aren’t very powerful considering that she’s spent more time writing essays than actually fighting. He swings at her and it connects, and Ymir is seeing stars. 

Greaseball One is laughing at her, and she almost wants to stay down. 

“When we’re done here, I’m gonna make sure to show your girl a real good time,” he smirks and his yellow teeth show, and Ymir is so fucking done with seeing his yellow teeth that she gets back up in no time.    


She’s angry and she has her rage to fuel her. So she throws punch after punch after punch, not giving him a break. She’s angry, and the very fact that he’s  _ existing  _ makes her punches harder and faster. Her arms start to get tired and burn, but she doesn’t care. She needs him to understand her wrath.

“Ymir, buddy, stop!” Reiner pulls her back and holds her arms. “He’s down dude, he’s down!”

It takes her a moment to process Reiner’s words, but she looks down and sure enough, Greaseball One is down for the count. He sort of resembles the heap he was when Historia first beat him up. 

Ymir looks down at her hands which are blood and torn, and the pain begins to seep in. She winces at how the air burns her hands. 

“Holy shit dude,” Connie speaks. “You were going at it. Like, you threw punches so fast it was kind of hard to keep up.”

Ymir doesn’t speak. Instead, she walks over to Historia who’s slumped on the wall and staring at her with wide eyes. Ymir can’t help but think that this is how they should have met. Ymir, the delinquent, saving the innocent little blonde and showing her how she wasn’t all that bad. 

Ymir takes a seat next to her. 

“Hey,” she croaks, her voice a little raspy and deeper than usual. She sends Historia a crooked smile and relishes in the faint dust of pink that begins to settle in her friend’s face.

“Hey,” Historia responds back. The blonde takes freckled hands into her own. She gingerly touches them, reeling back when Ymir winces in pain. “Are ya sure ya ain’t a thug? I’ve never seen someone fight so viciously like ya.”

“It helps to have something to fight for,” Ymir winks. Historia’s blush becomes darker, and Ymir laughs. 

She stops when she feels soft lips on her own, and then everyone is laughing at how red the freckled nerd gets. 

-

Rod Reiss isn’t really sure what to say when he sees a bunch of battered teenagers return to school. The admins can teach him all they want, but they can’t teach him on what to do in situations like these. 

His daughter is half carried on Ymir...who’s limping and has a black eye. His daughter is an absolute mess as well, she’s covered in nicks and bruises. His confusion and concern grows exponentially when he sees four more battered students following them.    
Well, except for Marco. At least one of them stayed safe. 

When they finally reach the steps of the school, Rod is there to greet them. 

“Do I really want to know?” He sighs as he pinches the bridge of his nose. 

“I got this,” Historia whispers to her friends. But before she can continue, someone else starts for her. 

“Sir, some low life thugs attacked your daughter and Sasha.” Everyone is surprised when Mina speaks, but they quickly school their expressions to not give them away. 

“Ymir and the others went to go help them out, but those thugs didn’t want to leave without a fight.”

Rod stares at the floor for a long minute. He really doesn’t know what to do. They had ditched school, but ultimately it was for a good cause. And he doesn’t know what would have happened to Historia if they hadn’t. 

Finally, he speaks. 

“Just try not to get into fights so often please.”

He turns around to fetch his car so he and his daughter can go home, hearing whoops of joy from the students. 

He doubts they’ll do as he says though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!  
> (I hope you have a wonderful day)


	16. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ymir realizes that sometimes it's not a terrible thing to be mistaken for a delinquent.  
> After all, she never would have been able to experience this otherwise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, we finally reached the end!  
>  Honestly, it feels a little bittersweet. This was my favorite fic to write, and despite the long hiatus, I looked forward to finishing it. And now that it's come to an end, I can't help but smile at it all.   
> Who knew that procrastinating on homework could lead to such a fun project?

“Ouch!” Ymir winced as Mina took off the bandages from her hand. “Can you be a little more gentle?”

“Oh I’m sorry,” Mina smiled. “Do you mean like this?” With the new bandages, she wraps them around and tightens them as hard as she can around Ymir’s hand, earning a few more squeals from the freckled teen. 

“Hey now, don’t be so harsh on her,” Reiner quips in. He gives Ymir a reassuring smile that falters when he sees the glare Mina’s sending his way. 

“Just wait til I get to you.” Mina relishes in the gulp she hears. 

“Thank god I have Marco,” Connie mutters. Marco can only laugh as he gingerly puts ointment on Connie’s face, getting a sharp intake of breath. 

“What I don’t get is how Bertl took the least damage out of all of ya,” Sasha adds in. She’s already been patched up, and she sort of looks like a mummy. Well, a mummy that was never finished because the guy on the job got too lazy. 

“It’s cause he’s freakishly tall,” Historia adds in. She’s being patched up by Petra who looks at her disapprovingly. “What? It’s true!”

“You can at least try to be nice about it,” Petra sighs as she goes to fetch more ointment from her desk. “Actually, why are all of you guys in my room? Shouldn’t you be in the nurse’s office or something?”

“We figured the nurse already left cause she has plans and stuff,” Connie winces again when Marco touches a particularly dark bruise. 

“What if I had plans?” Petra puts her hands on her hips. The teens stare at one another before erupting into laughter. “Y’know what? Screw you guys.”

“We love you too Petra!” they chorused back.

Looking around, Ymir couldn’t help but feel warm inside. She was smiling before she knew it. 

“What’s up with you hot shot?” Mina joked as she started dabbing ointment around Ymir’s eye. 

“I’m just...so happy.”

“Happy that you got beat up?”

“No you dork. I’m happy that I got to have this experience.”

“So you  _ are  _ happy that you got beat up.”

“Shut up. I’m happy that I got to meet so many great people and actually be able to experience this. It’s like family y’know?”

Mina hummed.

“Thank you. For everything Mina. You’re one of my best friends, and nothing can ever change that.” When she feels the cotton leaving her face, Ymir opens her eyes and smiles. 

“Well, this was a nicer way to get rejected I guess,” Mina deadpans. 

“I’m sorr-”

“Get outta here Freckles. Lemme patch up the guy who thought he could take on two people by himself.”

“And he could!” Reiner shoots back. 

Ymir laughs. She gets up to switch places with Reiner and makes her way to Historia. 

“Hey,” she smiles.    
“Hm. Having fun with Mina huh?” Historia crosses her arm and turns her head. 

“Wait, Historia, it’s not-”

“I know, ‘Mir. I’m messing with ya,” Historia sends Ymir a smile of her own, and the freckled teen can feel herself melting all over again. She melts even further when she feels the small blonde lean her head against her shoulder. 

“Thanks for saving us.”

“Any time His’.”

“Awh is it time for hugs?!” Sasha and Connie yell in unison. Ymir tries to yell out no, but before she knows it, Connie and Sasha form a dog pile on her and Historia. Eventually, Reiner and Bertolt join in, and Marco throws in Mina for good measure before joining himself. 

They’re a tangled mess of limbs and hurt, but they’re all laughing. 

And everything ends alright. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you for reading. Thank you for sticking with this fic til the end, and I sincerely hope that it managed to make you smile.   
> I hope you stick around for what other fics I may write! :D


End file.
